Our Life
by AnimeJock
Summary: Natsuki/Shizuru centered. Natsuki and Shizuru are single parents that meet one day thanks to their children. What's in store for these two? Beginning of a journey perhaps? Rated T for language and possibly more.
1. What Came to Be

Hello all, thank you for stumbling onto my story. I'm a first time fan fiction writer so please be warned ahead of time, and I haven't written anything in a long time, it'll show I think. First of all, I have to give a special thanks to my little buddy miggitdog, she beta'd the story for me, not only that, but their love for Shizuru and Natsuki is very contagious, ha-ha. I would also like to give thanks to my Senpai, yurianimeotaku, they gave me the best advise when I was thinking about writing this little piece of fiction. I also have to say that I love the stories that are written they never fail to keep me on the edge.

I really wanted to write a story that focused on Natsuki and Shizuru as parents. There are a couple of stories out there that touch on it, however I wanted to write about it more in-depth. I always thought that these two would make wonderful parents, I don't really know why. The story will probably be centered on Natsuki more than Shizuru, but don't worry there will be plenty of interaction between the two of them. I would also like to say that I try to place Natsuki and Shizuru as individuals first than a couple second. They both have strong, unique personalities; hopefully I'll get them right.

The first chapter is a little shorter than I would like, but again I hope to improve in time.

**Sunrise owns Mai HiME and Mai Otome and the characters involved, damn them.**

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It was a mild Saturday Spring morning in a suburb of Tokyo as Natsuki Kuga was enjoying her time at the park with her four-year-old daughter Aya. The temperature was mild enough for the jeans and light blue button up collared shirt she chose to wear today. Her incredibly beautiful and lengthy cobalt hair tied back in a ponytail. She sat quietly on a park bench enjoying a cup of coffee as her striking viridian eyes focused on her beautiful daughter; playing with the other children on the playground. She chuckled to herself as she saw her little girl take charge of a game of tag.

"Always the leader," she mused.

Aya was just a few yards ahead of Natsuki when she took a quick moment to give a toothy grin and wave to her mother. Natsuki returned the smile and waved happily to Aya. As Aya played the 'organized' game of tag with the other children, Natsuki couldn't help but revisit the time in her life when she didn't have her daughter in her life.

Natsuki was a single twenty-six year old mother and Aya was a result of a one-night stand after a very rare night of drunken chaos at a party. She only knew the man's first name, Masashi. She was obviously shocked to find out she was pregnant about a month and a half later. She contemplated her options, but in the end, she knew she couldn't give up her child growing inside of her. She tried to track down the father of her child however; it was useless. No one seemed to remember him. She eventually gave up trying to locate him and assumed full responsibility of her daughter. Not that she minded she looked at Aya as a gift and never a burden that many insinuated she would be. Natsuki found her unconditional love and her reason to keep on going every day. Natsuki lived her life so that her daughter could live her life free of worry and loneliness Natsuki endured through most of her young life.

Natsuki was accustomed to living life as her own with no one to care for or vise versa. She had a small number of friends, _possibly_ one she could rely on. Her loving mother passed away when she was a young child and her father abandoned her emotionally and physically prior to her mother's passing. By the time she was twelve years old she was taking care of herself with the assistance of her father's child support. She attended Fuuka Academy, at least that provided her a place to live during her teenage years. She barely graduated, she spent most of her high school days sleeping in, working on her motorcycle or racing her motorcycle for quick cash and to satisfy the restlessness she constantly felt. Most of the time that didn't help. Days and nights were generally spent alone fighting the internal anger that occupied her mind and heart. Most people believed that she was anti-social, however that necessarily wasn't the case, no one made a serious attempt to get to know her most of her life, she grew accustomed to that. She was perceived as the cool lone wolf and the students that did approach her did it for their own selfish benefit, anything to increase their popularity. What better way to do that, than talk to the beautiful loner?

After graduation, she was accepted to Tokyo University and Fuuka University, primarily because her test scores were in the top three percent for both universities. Natsuki wasn't surprised, she knew she was intelligent but high school bored the hell out of her. She chose to attend Tokyo University. Her father cut her off financially when she turned eighteen, Tokyo offered her a scholarship that covered almost all of her tuition and boarding, furthermore it gave her the opportunity to start a new life away from the drama and pain. She majored in Mechanical Engineering and was recruited to work for Honda Motor Corporation prior to graduating; she now develops prototypes of motorcycles and racing cars for corporate buyers. She loved her job, a bright career ahead of her, financially independent and occasionally spent time with co-workers outside of work.

Every so often Natsuki would feel the pang of loneliness and felt the need for companionship. Though, she very rarely found it essential to fulfill the desires, other than the night of the company party she attended. She let loose that evening, thanks to an endless supply of free alcohol, surprising everyone around her, it certainly went against her reputation. Masashi didn't work for the company and he was there as a guest or so she believed. After a few too many drinks and some much needed attention, she gave into the rare desire and left the party together. As they say, the rest is history. She woke up naked the following morning in an empty bed, throbbing headache and no contact information for the stranger. A little over nine months following the encounter, Aya came into the world.

_I won't make the same mistakes my father made._

Natsuki shook away the melancholy and focused on her pride and joy once again. She smiled to herself _at least she looks like me_. Aya inherited Natsuki's thick cobalt hair, flawless porcelain skin and beautiful emerald eyes. Natsuki kept Aya's hair shoulder length; brushing it was a pain in the ass when it got too long and Aya was even more restless than her mother. Too many mornings were spent chasing Aya around the house with a hairbrush in her hand trying to get her to sit down for two minutes to brush the knots and tangles out of her hair. Today Aya, being the tomboy she is, opted to wear her baseball cap (backwards of course), Ichiro Suzuki baseball jersey and shorts.

Aya ran around the playground with her arm stretched out in front of her trying to catch up to a boy that appeared to be her age. The young dark blonde out maneuvered her and Aya tried to compensate as she dragged her right foot and tripped causing her to fall to the ground. She dusted herself off and the young boy started laughing hysterically at the expense of Aya. Natsuki knew what was going to happen next as she rose from the bench she was sitting on. Aya gave her best impression of the _Kuga death stare_, she was a long way from mastering her mother's stare, and it was more comical than threatening to an adult. Aya began chasing the little boy around the playground until she tackled him down.

Natsuki immediately ran towards Aya trying to prevent what she knew would happen next. Aya's face was beat red; she had her arms in the air prepared to extricate her revenge on the poor boy below her. Her arms started coming down with force; Natsuki quickly intervened and picked up her daughter preventing the "end" of the poor kid's life. Natsuki had a temper at times and Aya certainly inherited it as well, that being said, Aya had a difficult time controlling the outbursts at times. Natsuki hoped she would learn to as she grew older.

"Aya! What have I told you about hitting?!" Natsuki said sternly.

"Momma, it wasn't my fault. You saw what he did after I tripped." Aya huffed.

"It's no excuse. You know you don't know your own strength at times," Natsuki sighed.

"Momma, I wasn't going to hurt him…that badly," Aya whined; she knew it was useless she was in trouble. Her momma gave her the _stare_.

"You know where you are going when you get home young lady."

"Ahhh damnit." Aya quickly slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she said. "Oops," she blushed and turned her head away to avoid eye contact with Natsuki.

"Aya! Where did you pick that language up?" Natsuki shouted, her face turning a very lovely shade of reddish-purple. She was making every attempt possible to hold her temper in check.

"You and Aunt Nao" Aya stated with a smirk_. Almost every time the two of you are together I hear the "S" word, the "D" word and some other words I don't know_, Aya thought to herself, but dared not to say it, she had already pushed it with her mother.

"I'm an adult and I'll deal with Nao the next time I see her. I'm allowed to say words like that, but you are definitely not allowed to. You hear me?" Natsuki was now rubbing two fingers between her eyes; the headache was quickly forming.

Aya nodded in agreement.

"You are having a time-out when we get home."

"Aww momma, I'm sorry. Please no time-out." Aya was close to tears it was her last chance.

Natsuki glanced at her with an eyebrow raised. Aya exploited her primary weakness and that was Aya herself. Her daughters tears never failed to put an ache in her heart, even if they were for show like it was at this moment. She turned them onto get what she wanted and in most cases to avoid punishment. Aya was a good-natured child, intelligent and precocious, it often got the best of her.

Natsuki hugged Aya in a tight embrace, "Not going to work this time," she said humorously.

"Aww shucks," trying to snap her fingers.

"We'll see how you behave, we're going home now. Before we do, you have to say your sorry to the little boy you mauled."

"Do I have to?" Aya gave Natsuki her the certified Kuga pout.

"Yes you do." _Before I have one hell of an angry parent in my face_, she thought to herself.

"Okay momma. I'm also sorry I said the 'D' word, it won't happen again" Aya apologized while she grabbed Natsuki by the neck and hugged her tightly.

Natsuki smiled at the embrace and began walking around the playground, unable to really see where she was going. She accidentally bumped into someone almost causing her and Aya to fall over.

"Excuse me, I'm terribly sorry."

"Ara ara, that's quite alright. I wasn't watching where I was stepping either" said a beautifully smooth Kyoto-ben accent.

Natsuki maneuvered Aya so that she could put a face to the enchanting voice.

"Momma that's the boy!" Aya shouted pointing down to the blonde headed boy that was hiding behind a pair of legs.

Natsuki couldn't focus on anything other than the deep crimson eyes that were staring deep into her own eyes.

…TBC…

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I hope you enjoyed it so far. If you haven't figured it out, Masashi is Masashi Takeda. Don't ask why I chose him to be the father of Natsuki's child, please don't cringe ha-ha. I also realize that a small section felt out of sequence, but I stared at it for days, so did my beta, we just left it, our brains hurt.


	2. Mother and Son

Oh gosh, I have to say thank you to everyone for the reviews and Story Alerts bows. I was really surprised at the responses. I apologize if I didn't get the chance to respond to your reviews/comments, PM's, and Alerts. Please know that I truly appreciate everyone who took the time to read the first chapter, I really was surprised. I hope that I can keep you all interested in this little fic.

Oh yea, I knew I was going to make a couple people cringe at the choice of Takeda, but I think I caused more than that oO. I have to admit I found it amusing.

On a serious note: I'll be honest I had a difficult time introducing Shizuru to the story. I give mad props to those awesome writers that can portray her well. It feels like I know chapters 3-10 but 2 drove me nuts. I apologize ahead of time. I started chapter 2 over a week before chapter 1 was posted.

FYI: My beta** miggitdog** has been very busy lately I had my roommate help me as much as he could. Don't flame ducks.

Also, this goes out to my senpai **yurianimeotaku**.

**Lastly, I do not own Mai HiME, if I did, Natsuki would be all mine!**

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Natsuki continued to stare into the deep crimson eyes when she noticed she was still carrying the cup of coffee she was drinking. Unfortunately, bumping into the unsuspecting stranger had caused her to spill the coffee and now the lovely woman in front of her was wearing that same coffee.

"Ara ara, what do we have here?" The crimson beauty stated staring at her coffee covered shirt.

"Gomen nasai!" Natsuki said frantically. Her cheeks were blushing a light pink color and she was cringing because of her clumsiness.

"It's quite alright, no harm done." The woman pulled a handkerchief out of the small bag she was carrying and wiped the coffee off as best as she could.

Natsuki put Aya down to assist the stranger, her right hand rubbing the spot between her eyes out of frustration. She dashed to the nearest trashcan and threw the coffee cup away and quickly returned to the small group of people on the playground.

"What did you do to my mom?" A small voice sounded accusingly from behind the woman as the young boy emerged from behind what must be his mother. The young boy spoke with the same Kyoto-ben accent. He was the same child Aya was about to destroy only a few minutes ago. He appeared to be around four or five years old, with dirty blonde hair covering what parts of his face that weren't covered in dust. The same dirt that was spread liberally over his shorts and faded green sweatshirt. His face was slightly flustered and appeared to be quite agitated at the strangers that bumped into his mother.

"Nothing you butthead, your mom wasn't watching where she was going." Aya said matter-of-factly.

"No way, you did it, I saw." The young boy voiced while sticking out his tongue.

"Grrrr, what do you know? And why do you and your mom sound so funny?" Aya asked incredulously returning the gesture.

The shade of pink Natsuki was wearing across her face was now fire engine red, and her jaw hurt from grinding her teeth. She decided she was going to need a muzzle for Aya before things would go from bad to worse.

Natsuki quickly covered her daughter's mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's with her right now," she glared down at Aya.

The beautiful stranger giggled with her hand covering her mouth at the all too adorable cobalt haired pair. Natsuki winced but still looking down at the giggling woman, her face was still red, it didn't seem that it was going to go away anytime soon.

_Can this get any worse? We're making fools of ourselves._

"Baka," she muttered to herself.

Natsuki allowed the blush to subside, collecting her courage to put a face to the bewitching voice. She slowly raised her head and her viridian eyes saw nothing short of breathtaking; she was awestruck. The woman in front of her was wearing form-fitting jeans, an unbuttoned lavender shirt with a white tank top underneath. Her body appeared to be soft but toned. With honey-colored wavy hair was casually lying below her shoulders. She had sharp facial features her skin fair skin glowed. Natsuki's eyes met crimson once again, this time the eyes hand a hint of tease in them.

"Ara, I always wanted a brown shirt, okini." The honey haired beauty giggled.

Natsuki returned to reality and glanced at the coffee stained tank top. There was a medium sized spot in the abdomen region of the shirt.

_What the hell is wrong with me? __Gah, stop staring you fool! _Natuski thought to herself, breaking her eye contact once again; rubbing the back of her head out of nervousness. Her face had returned to the fire engine red, still internally kicking herself in the ass for glancing for too long.

_Damnit, baka, baka, baka!_

The woman in front of her appeared to be amused by the raven-haired beauty in front of her, especially the number of shades of red she's seen on her face in a matter of minutes. "Are you okay?" She asked while buttoning the shirt covering her stained tank top.

"H-hai," Natsuki responded hesitantly.

"It's okay, you can look up now." She giggled as she fastened the last button.

Natsuki slowly smiled, still fighting off the remainder of a blush.

Aya and the young boy looked at each other quizzically, than at their mothers, not fully understanding themselves what was going on. Aya eyeballed her mom, she was acting strange and her face kept turning red. Her mom wasn't angry, which she saw on a daily basis, and if she were angry, a lot more _"S and D" _words would have been said by now.

"Momma?" Aya finally asked yanking on Natsuki's hand releasing her from her internal rant.

"Uhh, again my apologies for my clumsiness and my daughter's behavior. It was uncalled for. My name is Kuga Natsuki and this is my little hell—err daughter Aya."

"Please, no apologies are needed, I wasn't watching where I was going either. Natsuki-san—"

"Natsuki," cutting her off.

"Ano?" Shizuru asked, masking her surprise at Natsuki's reaction.

"Just Natsuki," she said tapping her foot to the ground. The normally confident raven-haired beauty was anything but that at the moment. "Umm…I think we're beyond formalities now, don't you think?"

"Then please, call me Shizuru." Shizuru smiled. "This is my son Kouta," she continued the introductions while placing her hand on her son's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you both. Aya, what do you have to say to Kouta?" Replacing her eyes from Shizuru to her daughter.

"But momma," Aya whined, looking up at Natsuki.

"No buts." Looked up at the mother and child, the woman had a grin plastered to her face while her son had a matching smirk.

"Gomen Kouta," she whispered. Her voice immediately rose, "You should say your sorry to you know!" Aya directed towards Kouta.

"Why? You missed me and you tripped, it was really funny. You're just a sore looser." Kouta added insult to injury.

"You jerk. I would have tagged you. I still say you sound funny." Aya huffed once again, her arms crossed turning in the opposite direction of Kouta.

"Stop saying I sound funny," Kouta said turning his back to Natsuki and Aya.

Natsuki stood there dumbfounded; this whole situation was getting out of hand. She didn't know whether to be upset with her daughter or not. Sure she shouldn't be hitting anyone or flinging insults, _Nao would be proud though_, but Kouta wasn't making things easier for her either, he seemed to thrive on getting under Aya's skin. Her maternal instinct was to stand up for her daughter, however someone needed to be the voice of reason. Before she could speak up, Shizuru said something instead.

"Kouta, please apologize to Aya. I saw what happened as well and you weren't being very polite," Shizuru said calmly.

Kouta turned to face his mother and nodded.

"Gomen nasai," he apologized with a slight bow and turned back to look at his mother; she gave him a small smile in appreciation.

Aya accepted the apology for the time being.

Shizuru bent down to eye level with Aya, "We probably sound a little funny to you because I was born and raised in Kyoto. Kouta gets it from me," Shizuru winked at the young girl and watched as an adorable blush spread across her face.

She rose, and was looking at the older Kuga who had a radiant smile on her face.

"I didn't think anyone could make her blush like that, I know for sure she's my daughter." Natsuki laughed, some of the tension wearing off.

"Momma," Aya said in a gruff voice.

Natsuki cleared her throat, "It might be a little late, but may I offer a short-term peace offering? There's a concession stand just down the path from the playground, I know they have drinks and snacks. I'm sure you're worn out Kouta."

"Natsuki-san—"

"Natsuki," she said gently, making eye contact once again. She really couldn't get over those crimson eyes.

Shizuru blushed slightly and looked at Kouta as if she was looking for his approval. She saw a small smile form and turned back to face the emerald eyes once again, "Okini, that would be very kind of you Natsuki."

"No problem," Natsuki shrugged. "Ready kid?" She asked Aya.

"Yup," she responded while being lifted high into the air, she settled on her mother's shoulders.

"I figured this would prevent another nuclear meltdown. It's wise to keep them at arms length for the moment, don't you think?"

Shizuru chuckled at the statement, "Yes you are quite right I suppose." The Kyoto-ben responded holding Kouta's hand as they started to walk towards the concession stand.

The four of them walked in a comfortable silence down the path that led to the concession stand. To their left was a couple of baseball fields and to the right a soccer field, each of the fields occupied by children playing their respective sports. They could hear the excited cheers coming from the parents in the stands and players on the bench. A few trees that were in full bloom were scattered around the park, with a slight breeze, it was a heavenly scent of spring and warmth.

They approached the concession stand, the children looked at their options. Aya picked an orange Popsicle while Kouta opted for a cherry snowball. Natsuki paid for the items including two bottled waters for herself and Shizuru, they all took their place at a picnic table beside a tree. They made sure the children sat beside each of their parents and across the table from one another. Natsuki particularly made sure she had a free hand available just in case they decided to repeat the incidents that occurred about fifteen minutes ago.

"What a beautiful day," Shizuru said breaking the silence.

"Hai, it'll soon be summer. I can't wait," Natsuki added.

"It's too hot here during the summer. I gets very uncomfortable around here, especially the humidity."

"Really? I love it; I can't handle the cold weather, it's not for me. When school lets out for Aya, I hope to take her to the beach for her first time. That's my plan anyways. You grew up in Kyoto correct?" Natsuki asked taking a sip of water.

"Hai, I moved to this area a few years ago. The climate is different, a little cooler during the summer, and it does not get as humid either." Shizuru added politely.

"I used to take day and weekend trips riding my motorcycle in the Kyoto area when I was younger. It is beautiful. I haven't traveled there since Aya was born."

"It is beautiful, it hasn't changed much in the last few years. More tourists have visited the area than before, to see the shrines and temples outside the city. We go back a couple of times a year, but we stay in the area unless I have to travel for business."

The conversation interrupted by the sound _Mezame _by Kajiua Yuki. It was Shizuru's cell phone ringing through the small bag she was carrying.

"Excuse me a moment," she said walking away from everyone.

Natsuki heard a few soft _"yeses and no's"_ and _"Wednesday afternoon"_ from Shizuru while she was sitting with the kids. Aya was finishing up the popsicle and Kouta was still slurping the snowball. _At least they're quiet. _

Shizuru clicked her cell phone off after saying good-bye to the person on the other end of the line. She had a blank expression on her face when she returned to the picnic table. "Ara, it appears we have to leave. That was an associate of mine; something went wrong with a project I'm working on. Gomen nasai." Shizuru sighed.

"Ah, I know how that is, I hope there aren't too many complications," Natsuki said with a bright smile.

Shizuru returned the smile, but responded with a hint of tease in her voice, "Nothing that I can't handle Kuga-san."

Natsuki's porcelain face went flush for a moment, than the blush returned. "And to think I was starting to like you," she teased back.

There was a light tint of pink that brushed across the attractive Kyoto woman. _Score!_ _I guess I can have the same affect_, Natsuki celebrated to herself.

"Ikezu," Shizuru teased.

"You started it," Natsuki teased back.

"I guess I did. I'm sorry to say we really must go. Are you ready Kouta?" She asked her son. He recently finished his snowball and was tossing it into the trashcan.

"Hai," the brown-eyed boy responded calmly, he still had a smudge of dirt on his face from the previous activities.

"We should be going as well," Natsuki stated to no one in particular. "We'll walk up with you," turning to Shizuru.

Shizuru accepted the offer; the four of them quietly strolled towards the playground entrance of the park, their pace a little quicker than before. Natsuki and Shizuru walked side-by-side holding the hands of their respective children with the other hand. Although both children were quiet, both mothers could sense the animosity between their kids; they used their bodies as a barrier.

They made it to the entrance, "Well we're going this way," Natsuki said pointing to the left. "Our house is only a few blocks away."

"Hai," Shizuru said.

"It was nice to have met you both. Again, I apologize for everything, I hope there aren't any hard feelings."

"No reason to apologize again Natsuki. Aya, it was very nice meeting you. Thank you for sparing Kouta's life," Shizuru grinned at Natsuki than Aya.

"Hai, and I'm sorry for saying you sound funny." Aya said softly.

"Good bye, and have a nice weekend. I hope everything works out with your project."

"Okini. Good bye," Crimson met emerald one last time before both of them departed in opposite directions.

Natsuki picked up Aya and started walking away, Shizuru held onto Kouta's hand as she did the same thing. The young Kuga turned to gaze at the other family walk away, she saw Kouta turn around to do the same. They both crinkled their noses and stuck their tongue out at one another.

Before Aya knew what was happening, she was facing the other direction, her mother was jogging towards the other family.

"Shizuru!" Natsuki shouted catching up to the mother and son.

Shizuru turned around when she heard her name being called, "Yes?"

"Umm, I wanted to let you know that Aya and I are at the playground pretty much every Saturday morning…soo…uhh…if you and Kouta …ever want to…" she asked timidly.

"We'll see you next Saturday, Natsuki," Shizuru replied with the most radiant smile Natsuki had ever seen.

"Hai, great. Well then, we'll see you next weekend. There should be plenty of kids around so they would have plenty of other people to play with…hopefully." Natsuki tried to rationalize.

Both children stared at each other than their parents with questionable stares. Aya shrugged then acted as though she remembered she despised Kouta and stuck her tongue out at him again; it was their method of communication. Kouta returned the favor.

Natsuki noticed their reactions, "Err, maybe not…"

"We'll be here, and the both of us will be on our best behavior," Shizuru implied with a quick tease, before Natsuki could change her mind.

"Okay then, we'll see you then. Bye again." She and Aya waved and walked away again.

While Natsuki walked in the direction of their home, Aya adjusted herself in her momma's arms, pressed her forehead to the crook of Natsuki's neck. Natsuki held her pride a little tighter, for some reason sensing they both needed the connection.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Uh huh."

"Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?" Natsuki asked quietly.

Aya shook her head no with her forehead pressed against her mom's chest, her hands clenching to Natsuki's shoulders.

_Where do you get cuddling from? _

Natsuki understood her daughter's actions pretty well; they were very much alike. When Aya expressed her frustration it tired her out and like her mother, she didn't like feeling out of control. To an untrained eye, Aya appeared as though she was staring off into space, however, she was thinking or wondering about something that troubled her. She could remain quiet for an uncertain amount of time. Sometimes she needed her space, even from her mom whom she loved dearly. Natsuki completely understood and she would wait patiently for her daughter to come around and talk about it if she wanted too. Occasionally the young Kuga would talk to her about what was troubling her, although most of the time her mood would become mischievous again and act as though everything was okay. Natsuki believe that a majority of the time she was fine.

Aya yawned; she wore herself out at the park.

"I love you, you know?" Natsuki whispered in her ear, "but you still have a time-out waiting for you."

Aya shot up, "Momma."

Natsuki laughed and held her as they approached their home, she could hear the dog barking, awaiting their arrival.

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I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to portray Shizuru as accurately as I can, but I think each viewer interprets the characters differently. Hopefully I'll be able to establish a natural development :).


	3. Friends In Strange Places

Wee, here we go for chapter 3. First of all I would like to thank every one again for your reviews and Alerts, I hope that I'm keeping you all interested in this piece of fiction. I apologize for not responding to reviews for chapter two, I was sick most of the weekend and I avoided my computer like the dead. I'll make sure to respond this time around, please review if you get the chance, I do appreciate honest reviews, but please don't flame. I know I'll catch a few mistakes and I'll take the time to correct them.

I have to give a shout out to Camel Menthol Lights. I know, I know, cigarettes will kill you, but so will the brainstorming process for a fan fiction. XP My goal is to put a smile on the reader's faces and I hope this continuation will do the same.

This chapter is slightly longer and a little rough at the beginning I'm aware, I thought about separating it into two, but it's a V-Day treat of sorts, no I'm not that conceited, lmao.

I also give my thanks to my senpai **yurianimeotaku** and my beta's **miggitdog** (I don't think I laughed that hard in a long time reading critiques) and my roommate.

**I do not own Mai HiME/Otome. I'll paraphrase ****Little-Deamon-Inside,**** our **_**"Magic Holy-Shit Button"**_** would work if we did.**

* * *

Natuski and Aya approached their traditional single family home. It was a three bedroom with a two-car garage, a little large for the two of them, but it was home. Natsuki bought it last year. The previous owner was transferred to the US branch in San Francisco on short notice. He and his family had less than a month to sell the home and relocate to California to meet the demanding company schedules. The deal was too good to pass up for Natsuki, besides the price and location; the thing she loved most was the garage. The large single bay was the perfect size for her motorcycles; her Honda CRV could stay in the driveway. 

The Kuga's made it to the front door, Natsuki put Aya down so she could reach for her keys in her pocket, and unlocked the door. When the door opened their overly excited dog, Duran, greeted them.

"Hey Duran, get down boy," Natsuki commanded their two year old pup; she forced his paws off her chest.

Duran found the two of them about a month after they moved into their house. Aya was playing in the yard one afternoon when Duran gimped onto their property. He had a bleeding cut on his right-front paw, he was also a little timid and malnourished, however he was very friendly. Aya fell in love with him right away, the next thing Natsuki remembered was the visit to the local veterinary office. The vet wrapped the pup's foot and gave him a thorough check up. She had determined he was around one year old and he was a Labrador-German shepherd mix; from the coloring, body style and facial features. He had his shots updated and was a proud member of the Kuga household within a day of them finding him.

Duran licked the giggling young Kuga, "Duran-chan," she said wiping her face off.

She ran upstairs to the main level of their home, Natsuki and Duran a few steps behind her. Entering the doorway that led to the main level of the house, Natsuki looked around and noticed the small mess in the comfortable sized family room. The Kuga's were not dirty by any means; at times they could be messy. The room was furnished with a couch and love seat set, at a ninety-degree angle. A low sitting coffee table was placed in the middle, currently covered with magazines and Aya's toys. The walls still remained white with a few photos of Natsuki and Aya were hung in random areas of the walls. The focus of the room however, was the Kuga's pride and joy, a 42-inch Sony LCD flat screen television and entertainment system, complete with their Playstation 3 and variety of video games. Many of their evenings were spent together playing racing and fighting games against each other.

To the right of the family room was a modest kitchen; a breakfast bar separated the two rooms. The dining room, which was never used, was visible when they entered the kitchen. Natsuki hadn't bothered to purchase a dining room set for the room, they spent their meal times together eating at the breakfast bar. Natsuki was a great many things, but a cook she was not, dinner was generally instant meals, take-out or they would go to a restaurant after work and school.

Natsuki placed her set of keys on the counter, "Why don't you go up and get yourself cleaned up," she said as Aya was on the floor petting Duran.

"After you clean up, I'll make lunch. Are you hungry?"

"Yup," the dirt covered Kuga responded walking towards the hall that led to the bathroom and bedrooms.

"Okay, go on up. After you eat, you'll have your time-out. Don't think I forgot already," she called back.

"Argh, okay," Aya muffled.

Natsuki heard the water running from the bathroom, she walked into the kitchen deciding on what she was going to prepare for the two of them. The digital clock on the microwave read 1:15, _we were at the playground longer than I thought_. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed some lunchmeat and mayonnaise, while she was in there she spotted two bottles of import beer she had remaining. Natsuki closed the refrigerator door, with the lunchmeat and mayonnaise in one hand and a bottle of Sam Adams in the other.

As she placed everything on the counter and opened her beer when she heard the front door open and slam shut. _Damnit Nao, we're not even home for five minutes_. Natsuki took a big swig of the refreshing beer. She heard the footsteps walk up the stairs when she saw her _close_ _friend_ Yuuki Nao enter the doorway. Nao was slightly shorter and skinnier than Natsuki; her bright red hair was cut stylishly shag, and some layers that lay below her shoulders. It was bold and it made a statement, like Nao herself.

They were roommates through out their years attending Tokyo University; they also butted heads through out college. Both were hot tempered and quick to jump the gun with one another. As much as they argued, and continue to this day, they have a love-hate relationship, and they can't stay away from each other, it fathoms them both. Life was certainly interesting for Natsuki with Nao in it.

The two of them had something that connected them on a deeper level, they rarely spoke about it but Nao lost her mother prematurely as well when she was in high school. The emerald beauty knew how it felt, so it has become an unspoken connection.

The fiery red head was also the undeclared God Mother of sorts to Aya. When a few others found out Natsuki was pregnant, most of them urged her to not go through with the pregnancy or give Aya up for adoption. Nao was the only person that convinced Natsuki to do what _she_ wanted to do; essentially she slapped sense into the Emerald beauty. Natsuki also knew a part of Nao felt responsible for the one nightstand because Nao pushed Natsuki into going to the party that evening.

Nao was now a Junior partner at a law firm in the city and was a part of the Kuga's family, whether Natsuki wanted her to be or not.

"That's not why I gave you a key to the house." Natsuki said to her friend, her emerald eyes glared at the lighter green ones.

"Aww, Pup. No hello?" Nao teased.

"Grrr, it's meant for emergencies. And stop calling me Pup!" Natsuki growled, "why are you here?"

"Can't I stop by to see how my favorite person is doing?"

"No. I'm fine anyways, you still should have called."

"Who said I was talking about you? I'm here to see the kid," the red head shot back.

"Aunt Nao!" Aya shouted excitedly running towards Nao.

Nao swung Aya in a circle than rubbed the top of her head like a puppy, "Hey kid, how's my favorite partner in crime?"

"I'm fine. Me and Momma just got back from the playground," the hungry Kuga said grabbing a potato chip from the bag she snuck out of the cupboard.

"You have fun?" Nao asked as she ninja'd a chip from the open bag.

Aya moved closer to Nao's ear, "Yup. You would be happy; I almost kicked a boy's butt today. He made fun of me. I said he sounds funny," Aya whispered.

The red head laughed and patted Aya on the back in pride. Natsuki rolled her eyes; she heard her daughter's _whisper_ while she was making a ham and mayo sandwich for her.

"That's enough you two," Natsuki said to Nao and Aya, although she was glaring at the _older_ of the two. "Could you please not encourage that type of behavior," she continued in agitation.

"How is it my fault?" Nao asked defensively.

"Yea, okay, it wasn't you that just gave her a pat on the back in recognition?"

"Kid's gotta stick up for herself, especially against men," Nao winked at Aya, whom was sitting at the counter eating her sandwich.

"Yup!" she grinned nodding her head yes.

"What men? It was a five-year old boy! Hardly threatening, even for Aya. Luckily Shizuru wasn't upset about it," Natsuki flinched.

It appeared the name Shizuru caught Nao's undivided attention. Natsuki cringed as the light shade of pink spread across her face for about the tenth time that day.

"Momma, you're pink again!" Aya shouted pointing at her mother.

"Woh, woh, woh. Hold up. Who is this _Shizuru_ chick; and why is the Pup blushing?" Nao asked somewhat frantically, looking from mother to daughter.

"She's that butthead Kouta's mom," the young Kuga muttered.

"Who the hell is Kouta?" Nao asked in confusion.

"Nao! Damnit, what the hell have I told you about cussing in front of Aya?" Natsuki shouted without thinking about the choice words she was using in front of her daughter. "Kouta is the boy I had to pull Aya off of, and Shizuru is the boy's mother," Natsuki explained, her fingers were rubbing the spot between her eyes.

"Yeah, Momma had to talk to her. But she kept turning red; I don't think she was mad. Momma was acting weird," Aya explained to her _aunt_ finishing off the last of her lunch.

Nao looked at Natsuki with a teasing glint in her eyes and she was making an _attempt_ to hold her laughter. It lasted two seconds, Nao busted a gut laughing, tears were streaming down her eyes. "Oh this is priceless! The Pup has a crush! I never thought I'd live to see this day," Nao shouted in laughter, holding onto her stomach.

"Shut up!" Was the only cut down the blushing Kuga could come up with. She glanced at her confused little girl.

"Crush? What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"Never mind, go and watch TV please," Natsuki said forgetting the time-out she promised.

"Hai," Aya responded getting down from the stool. She ran to the family room with Duran behind her.

A viridian gaze focused on the obnoxious red head once again, "Will you shut the hell up. I don't know where that skanky brain of yours is going, but it's not what you're thinking."

"Oh yes it is," Nao's giggles were starting to subside.

"How can I have a _thing_ for someone? I don't have time for this anyways," Natsuki said taking another giant swig from her beer, her head turned to the side to avoid eye contact.

"Ahh, so you do admit to it?"

"I didn't say that! Don't put words in my mouth," the frustrated Kuga mouthed off to her incorrigible best friend.

"Uh-huh, well believe what you want. How long has it been since you've gotten laid anyways?"

"Get bent!"

"That's what I'm asking!" Nao's laughing fit was back in full swing.

"It's none of your damn business. Now will you tell me why the hell you broke into my house?" Natsuki asked to change the subject.

"Well, I came over to see if you wanted to go out with me tonight?"

"On the prowl again? Oh wait, isn't that like asking if the sky is blue."

"You know it Pup! You need to get out as well. I was going to find someone for you too, but I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore," Nao jabbed once again.

"Shove it. There's nothing going on. Our kids don't even get along. Saturday we're meeting…" Natsuki flinched.

_Shit._

"Oh, Saturday you have a date?" Nao mocked.

"It's not a date, we're meeting up at the park again…so the kids can play." Natsuki stated trying to brush off the subject once again, her face was the shade of a tomato.

"Didn't you say they don't get along?"

"Baka! Shut up."

"I've never seen you this way. What's up with this woman? Wait…are you even into woman? Or humans for that matter? You treat inanimate objects better than you do the breathing."

Natsuki's face was bright red, her frustration had boiled over, and "I'm not into her, damn you. Can't I talk to someone without having to answer twenty questions?"

"Guess not. I'm surprised that's all. Aside from Aya nothing seems to 'rev your engine' unless it has an engine and two wheels." Nao said seriously with a smirk.

"Let's drop it," Natsuki sighed, her blush and frustration subsiding. She wasn't used to explaining herself, and she wasn't about to start with Nao.

"For now. I'll meet you at _Nuriko's_. Eight o clock," Nao said in finality.

"I didn't say I was going. I don't have a babysitter either," she tried to ration.

"Call that cat-girl Mikoto from down the street. She baby-sits for you on short notice for work all the time, why not tonight? Besides, if you don't go, I'll start up again on your lady friend."

"Baka, I just went grocery shopping. That kid eats me out of house and home when she baby sits." Natsuki said, running out of excuses.

"Kuga, honey, it's not like the grocery stores will sell out of chicken nuggets and instant ramen. Just do it."

Natsuki sighed in a very rare sign on defeat, _maybe I do need to get out for a while_, she thought to herself. "Fine, if I can get her to baby sit I'll meet you there."

"Score! Okay, well there isn't a need to call Mikoto; she'll be here at 7:30. I ran into her before I came in," Nao concluded descending down the stairs.

"Damnit!" Was the last thing Natsuki said to herself as her obnoxious friend slammed the door.

* * *

Natsuki parallel parked her 2007 Ducati Monster 696 along a back alley aside from _Nurkio's Pub_. She was casually dressed in jeans, a simple black t-shirt, with a simple black leather jacket and her favorite black boots; her cobalt hair was lying free below her shoulders. 

Nao and Natsuki were acquaintances with the owner; the pub was a place of refuge for the then college students while they attended Tokyo University. It was a small pub that offered a variety of Import and Domestic beers and liquor, and it had a very casual atmosphere. The bar itself was the focal point of the pub; with comfortable chairs and tables spread out randomly, and a small stage was in the back for local bands and DJ's that provided entertainment over the weekends.

Natsuki walked into the busy pub and handed her helmet to the bartender to hang onto behind the counter.

"Thanks Aki."

"No problem Kuga, can I get you anything?" The bar tender asked after putting her helmet away.

"Yeah, just a beer, whatever's fine with me," she shrugged.

"Here you go, have a good time," Aki said kindly walking off to serve the other patrons.

Natsuki nursed her beer glancing around the pub hoping to spot Nao. _She's probably hunting down her prey now_, she thought to herself, _poor sap_.

The cobalt beauty walked around the area and finally found Nao sitting at a table with her latest _kill_. She hesitantly approached the pair, from what she could tell from Nao's facial expression, was her latest boy toy was whispering _sweet nothings_ in her ear.

"Ah hem," Natsuki "coughed" to get the pair's attention.

"Pup, you made it. This is…" Nao flinched.

"Kuzuki," holding out his hand to Natsuki.

"Natsuki," she responded, shaking the stranger's hand.

"Nice to meet you. We were just making small talk, would you like to join us?" Kuzuki offered politely.

"S-sure, for a little while anyways," she accepted hesitantly.

"Great, I'll be right back; I'm going to grab a drink. Would any of you like anything?" He asked looking at them.

"No thanks, I still have this to finish off," Nao declined holding up her martini.

"I'm fine too," Natsuki added.

Natsuki turned her attention to her friend, "you won't even remember his name by the end of the night. Shame too, seems like a decent guy."

"Bite me."

"Uh, no thanks. Again, why the hell am I here? I didn't come to watch you take in another poor innocent sap as your plaything for the night. I feel like a third wheel…as always!"

"Because you needed to get out and hopefully laid," Nao jabbed.

"Don't start. I told you I'm not interested. I can be doing better things with my time than watching you undress him with your eyes. Essentially it's watching foreplay, and I don't want the image tattooed in my brain for the evening what I know will happen when you leave here." Natsuki said glaring at the red head with a mission.

"At least I'll be having some fun tonight satisfying my libido. You do remember what that is right? I know yours has been dormant for about a century," Nao shot back, a grin spread across her face.

"Kiss it."

"Oh I plan to, just not with you, and 'it' will be…"

"La, la, la, I can't hear you," Natsuki said covering her ears with her hands.

"Shit he's coming back," Nao said looking over Natsuki's shoulder.

"Right, so I'm going to get another beer and then I'm heading home. Have fun tonight; don't do anything I wouldn't do." Natsuki said rising from her seat.

"That leaves my options wide open, you don't do anything," Nao chided.

"Yeah, yeah I know," she said turning around towards the bar.

"You're leaving?" Kuzuki asked with a new beer in his hand.

"Yes, I'm going to grab another beer and head home. But you two have fun. It was nice meeting you." Natsuki said shaking Kuzuki's hand.

"You too, hopefully we'll see each other again."

_I doubt it with Nao's track record_, she thought to herself. However, she felt obligated to feel sorry for the sap, and simply responded, "Sure thing."

The raven-haired beauty returned to the bar and ordered another beer. She was standing and observing the crowd around her, hearing random conversations and watching some innocent flirting between men and women mostly. She was sure her facial expression read, "Leave me alone or suffer the consequences."

A tap on her shoulder broke Natsuki out of her trance; she quickly turned around to glare at the person that didn't get the memo.

"Natsuki," Shizuru said with an amused smile on her face when she saw the _threatening _Kuga death glare.

Natsuki tried to hide her look of shock, but stumbled, "Shizuru," was all she could say.

"Hello Natsuki, nice to see you again. I thought that was you," the stunning crimson eyed beauty said with a slight giggle.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Natsuki faltered.

"Ara, I think I'm old enough to have a drink," Shizuru teased.

"Baka," Natsuki cringed as her face turned a new shade of red.

"I'm actually here with a couple of friends. We finished up some problems we were having at the office, we decided we needed a drink to end the night." Shizuru explained grabbing the Long Island Ice Tea from Aki.

"Ah, well I hope everything turned out okay," Natsuki said taking another sip of her beer.

"As I said before, it was nothing I couldn't handle," with a lilt in her voice.

"I don't know why, but I believe you," Natsuki said more confidently than she felt, a smile spreading across her face.

For the second or third time that day, Shizuru's deep maple eyes hypnotized Natsuki. She couldn't decide whether it was her eyes or her smile that enchanted her more. _Will you stop staring; she probably gets a reaction like this all of the damn time_, she thought to herself. She broke eye contact and looked away for a moment.

"Umm, I want to apologize again for Aya's actions, I hope your son was okay." Natsuki apologized once again, trying to distract herself from the unrecognizable attraction she was feeling towards the Kyoto woman.

"Again, everything is okay Natsuki. Besides, you do not seem to be the type of person that apologizes often," she teased.

"You are perceptive Shizuru. I don't know why I feel I should," Natsuki answered honestly.

"Children can be rambunctious. If I may say so, your daughter is very beautiful Natsuki, just like her mother. She's very lively and proud as well," Shizuru said with another radiant smile.

Natsuki blushed an alarming shade of reddish purple at the compliment, "Thank you. You have a handsome son yourself. And since you're turning me into a tomato, I have to say that I see where he gets his good looks." Natsuki said returning the compliment.

"Ara, so Natsuki finds me handsome?" Shizuru giggled.

"No, you're beautiful," she responded to the tease before her brain could catch up to her mouth. Natsuki winced and after a few seconds turned to look at Shizuru again. She noticed a faint pink blush plastered to the woman in front of her.

Shizuru appeared to be a little embarrassed by the compliment; her head was cocked to the side with an indistinguishable smile spread across her angelic face. Shizuru feigned coughed, "thank you," she said quietly.

"…Errr…I'm sorry if I was too forward."

"How about we make a deal, no more apologies for the evening and let's enjoy an evening free of our children." Shizuru suggested with an unguarded smile.

"Deal," Natsuki agreed returning the smile as she looked at Shizuru once again.

"Great. Would you like to join us at our table?"

"Uh that's okay; you should spend time with your friends. I don't want to intrude. I know how rare it is get an evening off."

"Nonsense, the more the merrier," Shizuru said as she grabbed Natsuki's hand and led her through the crowd towards her table, Natsuki didn't have a choice it seemed.

Natsuki felt a shock run up her arm and felt unfamiliar warmth in her chest; her legs felt weak all of the sudden. _What the hell? _

The two of them made it to a corner table hidden from the crowd, there sat three people conversing with one another. Natsuki assumed it was Shizuru's friends she was with.

The first to speak up in a commanding tone was a woman with hair color a little lighter then Shizuru, but lacked the grace that encompassed the crimson eyed beauty. "Oi, Bubuzuke, where the hell have you been?" The woman said roughly while a mousey brunette tried to calm her down by placing her hands on her shoulders.

"Ara, did Haruka miss me?" Shizuru teased.

"Don't flatter yourself, it's rude to keep us waiting," Haruka huffed.

"I didn't think you'd mind. I ran into my friend Natsuki and we were catching up," Shizuru said calmly to her busty friend. "Natsuki, this is Haruka, Yukino and Reito. Everyone this is Natsuki," Shizuru continued.

Natsuki took a quick moment to study the interesting group of people. They all appeared to be in their mid-twenties like Shizuru. Yukino, the mousey brunette that tried to calm the other blond, wore glasses, her hair cut short. She had a quiet demeanor about her Natsuki decided. Reito was a handsome man with dark hair and appealing eyes; and like Shizuru he had a composed nature about him. _He has a similar grin as well_.

Natsuki realized she was being studied by three sets of eyes, she felt like a lab rat in a scientific study.

"Nice to meet all of you," she said to the three strangers.

"You as well Natsuki-san," Reito stood up and gave a slight bow.

"Natsuki is fine," she corrected as and hesitantly returned the bow.

"Please sit, Shizuru you too."

"Arigato," Natsuki said easing down into the offered chair. Shizuru sat next to her.

Natsuki sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, she finally heard Yukino break the silence.

"So how long have you two known each other?" Yukino asked Shizuru and Natsuki.

"For a few hours," Shizuru answered with a giggle. The response earned quizzical looks from all three of her friends.

"A few hours?" Reito questioned.

"Hai."

"How did you two meet?" Haruka asked glaring at Natsuki.

"What? At the playground," Natsuki answered defensively.

"Why were you at the playground?"

"I was with my kid. Why else would I be there?"

"How old is your child?"

"Twenty," Natsuki answered sarcastically, this caused a chuckle from Shizuru.

"Hilarious," Haruka deadpanned.

"She's almost five, she looks like me, she attends pre-school and her favorite snack is chocolate Pocky. Would you like for me to continue? Grrr, never mind, my kid is not up for discussion here, nor do I like these questions." Natsuki's face was red in frustration and she stood up supporting herself on her hands that were against the table.

"You pass," Haruka, stated non-saliently.

"What the…I pass, pass what?" Natsuki asked in utter confusion; her head hurt from the loud blonde's questions.

"My test."

"What test?" Natsuki asked angrily.

"Just know that you passed."

A bewildered Natsuki glanced at Shizuru who was sipping her drink with a twinkle in her eyes and an amused grin spread across her face. Than she looked at Reito, he had a matching expression. At least she wasn't the only one who appeared a little flustered; Yukino took off her glasses for a moment to rub the spot between her eyes.

After a few moments of funky silence, everyone broke out in laughter, easing most of the tension. Natsuki sat down next to Shizuru.

"Hahaha, I like this one Shizuru," Haruka said loudly.

The four of them sat and talked for about an hour after Natsuki passed the "Haruka Test". Natsuki learned more about Shizuru's inner circle; they all met working for the same company. Reito it turned out was married to a doctor, but the two of them worked long hours, which kept them apart more than they would like. Haruka and Yukino had known each other practically their entire lives, best friends and than through the years formed a quiet romantic relationship. Apparently, other than Reito and Shizuru, no one within the company knew about their relationship.

Through out the conversation, Natsuki stole a few glances at the stunning woman next to her. She took note that Shizuru did not talk as much as the others and filled the conversation with short approving phrases and chuckles if the conversation called for it. She also noticed that had a very reserved nature about her but she possessed an aura of cool confidence. An interesting mix Natsuki thought.

At one point in the evening, her viridian eyes caught perhaps a hint of loneliness in the rustic eyes. Somewhere deep down inside Natsuki, she felt that no one else would have noticed even if they were looking for it. She wanted to see the unguarded smile she wore on her face when it was just the two of them at the bar.

Natsuki looked at her watch, "I really should get going. I have to let my babysitter get home."

"It is getting pretty late, I should probably go as well," Shizuru agreed.

"Do you want to walk out with me?" Natsuki asked Shizuru, ignoring the looks Haruka, Yukino and Reito were shooting at each other.

"Yes, thank you," doing the same.

"Okay. Well, it was interesting meeting all of you. Have a good night." Natsuki bid her farewell to the stunned group.

"I'll see you all soon, good night," Shizuru said to her friends.

The pub was more crowded than it was when Natsuki arrived, the college students had arrived in masses. She wormed her way through the bodies to get to the bar so she could grab her helmet from Aki and returned to Shizuru.

"Ready to go?"

"Hai, I'm parked across the street. If we can get through this crowd that is," Shizuru giggled.

"We'll get through, trust me," Natsuki promised. It was her turn to grab Shizuru's hand and together they weaved in and out of traffic. She felt the same electricity and warmth she did over an hour ago when Shizuru clasped her hand.

They made it out of the pub in tact and they laughed together at the ridiculousness of the whole evening.

_There's the smile._

It took a few moments for Natsuki to realize she was still holding Shizuru's hand; she quickly let go and immediately missed the contact. Natsuki tried to control her blush, it was hopeless at this point, and the woman in front of her had seen just about every shade Natsuki could produce in twelve hours.

Shizuru produced another radiant smile at Natsuki's behalf, "Ara, Natsuki is too cute when she blushes."

"Yeah, well you seem to have that effect…with your teasing and everything. I swear you're relentless."

"Ara, I'll take that as a compliment than. But I do apologize for Haruka, half the time I don't think she knows what she's saying." Shizuru apologized.

"It's okay. If you don't mind me saying so, she's very strange. If I could come up with another description I would, I think I'm at a loss for words." Natsuki laughed.

"No, no, I think your description fits actually. I think I'm used to it," she chuckled.

"Probably," Natsuki said rolling her viridian eyes. Shizuru laughed again at the gesture.

"Thank you for an interesting evening Natsuki, I had fun," the Kyoto-ben thanked quietly.

"Strangely enough, I had a nice time as well. Where are you parked? Do you need me to walk you to your car?" Natsuki offered.

"No thank you, I'll be fine. I'm right there," Shizuru said pointing across the street at her car.

"No problem, I'm around the corner. Well good night Shizuru," she said hesitantly.

"Good night Natsuki."

For the second time that day, they both parted in opposite directions. Natsuki looked back to make sure Shizuru made it to her car okay, and she saw her get into her car. She turned around and walked around the corner to find her bike, she heard her name being called, and she turned around quickly and saw Shizuru walking briskly towards her. Natsuki met her half way.

"Is everything okay?" Natsuki questioned in a worried tone.

Shizuru didn't answer, instead her deep crimson eyes stared into emerald; Natsuki wasn't quite sure what she was looking for. She just knew she didn't want to break the contact.

"Okini, Natsuki," Shizuru said before she gave a soft peck on Natsuki's right cheek and walked towards her car once again.

Natsuki stood there in shock, too stunned to blush. She moved her right hand to feel the warm spot Shizuru kissed her and a soft smile formed on her porcelain features.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She decided to take her time going home, she needed a ride to clear her mind and decipher these new feelings Natsuki wasn't sure she could identify.

Natsuki loved the feeling of riding her motorcycle, especially the Ducati. It was freeing, and on nights like these, she could feel the texture of the road and hear the silence of the night as she sped down the empty back roads. She was alone in her thoughts, it's the way she liked it. At this moment, none of her feelings made sense and she was uncomfortable with that.

She pulled into the driveway, turned off her bike so she wouldn't wake Aya and opened the garage door. She pushed the motorcycle into the garage and flipped the kickstand so the bike could rest on it.

Natsuki put away her jacket in a closet and walked upstairs to find solace in the one aspect of her life that did make sense. She walked into the family room and the first thing she saw was Aya sleeping peacefully on one end of the couch, while her _babysitter_ was sleeping on the other end. Duran was curled up beside her on the floor. She also noticed the empty wrappers of junk food all over the coffee table, but she decided it could wait until morning.

Fifteen minutes after arriving home, she paid Mikoto and saw that she made it home okay from the window. She turned everything off and picked up her daughter, her arms resting under her neck and legs. Aya immediately cuddled into Natsuki's chest and grumbled a little bit as Natsuki walked up the short flight of stairs that led to their bedrooms.

She tucked in her sleeping child and kissed her forehead good night. Before you could leave, she heard a soft, 'Momma' from Aya. She turned around to find her pride's arms lifted in the air for a hug while she was still lying down and her eyes still closed. Natsuki embraced her softly, Aya's arms tightened a little bit and than relaxed off her shoulders.

Natsuki's previous thoughts about Shizuru, the kiss and the evening vanished from her mind, if only for a few moments.

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed the longer update. I am going to spend the next few days catching up on my fanfic reading and spending some time with my wife. I think she misses me. Happy Valentine's Day and please let me know what you think if you get a few moments. I really want to improve as a writer. Remember, don't flame ducks. 


	4. Meet Shizuru

Hello again. As always, thank you for reading, reviewing, adding to your favorites and alerting this piece of fan fiction. I hope it causes a smile, I know it does for me; I wouldn't write it if it didn't. Oh yes, thanks for the V-Day well wishes, I hope everyone had a great V-Day as well. The wife and I spent it watching movies and drinking wine, unfortunately my brother in law was there too. He's our version of Mikoto, he eats our food and sleeps a lot, and he isn't as cute though.

**Special Thanks: ****yurianimeotaku**-She will always be on this list, of course she's my senpai, she advised me yesterday I'm predictable but not boring. I had to smile at that. **Miggitdog**-My beta and hyper little buddy. **Azfixiation**-They really challenged me this weekend when I was writing and it's really appreciated. I enjoy their stories and wonderful insight to _Our Life_.

Oh yea, this chapter is another semi-long one, I didn't mean for it to be. It's a little more detailed in the beginning, I wanted to establish their routine and obviously things will change for our beloved Kuga's in later chapters.

Please read, review and enjoy. And remember, don't flame ducks.

**I do not own Mai Hime/Otome or the characters involved, again if I did, my "MHSB" would work.**

* * *

Sunday passed without any excitement for the Kuga's. Natsuki and Aya had to go to the grocery store to re-stock the freezer and pantry thanks to Mikoto and Aya's junk food binge on Saturday evening. The day had been chilly and overcast, so Aya spent most of the day playing video games while Natsuki caught up on some work in her home office. She tried to distract herself from the previous evening and the _kiss _that left her stunned, it didn't work out too well as Natsuki would every so often catch herself with a soft smile on her face and her mind on over-drive trying figure out why she was reacting that way. She also had two straight sleepless nights as well and it made her a bit cranky. It wasn't welcoming. 

A muffled "argh" were the first words Natsuki voiced at 5:45 Monday morning as she slammed the snooze button on her buzzing alarm clock and rolled on her back to stare at the ceiling. She was not a morning person to say the least, especially on Monday's. Monday's meant at least five days in the office it also meant five days of the unexpected. She didn't particularly enjoy getting up this early but it was the only time during the day where she was alone and the predictable routine was a bit soothing.

After staring at the ceiling for about five minutes, she managed to pull herself out of her comfortable queen sized bed to shower and change. Dressed in a charcoal colored pant's suit and white button-up collared shirt, she walked into the kitchen to find Duran ready for his morning walk and bathroom break. She let him out the backdoor, chaining his collar so he wouldn't make an attempt to run into the neighbors yard as he'd done so many times. While Duran was doing his _business_, she put on a pot of coffee and grabbed the morning paper; she pulled out the sports section to catch up on the Sunday's sports activities.

After reading the paper for a little while she glanced at the digital clock, it read 6:55, and the most challenging aspect of her morning would be waking up her daughter. Like her mother, Aya hated waking up for school but she would wake up at the crack-of-dawn for Saturday morning cartoons or to go out for planned weekend activities. Sunday morning's she would generally _catch up_ on sleep, usually she would crawl into Natsuki's bed around seven or eight in the morning and sleep in with her.

Natsuki walked to her daughter's bedroom, the morning sun shining partly through the blinds of her window. There was just enough light to reveal the little Kuga's bedroom and it was not your typically decorated young child's room. The walls were painted a light gray-blue and Aya's affinity for wolves were evident on a shelf above her bed. The only way anyone would guess it was a preschoolers bedroom were the toys that were scattered all over the floor and the Razor scooter propped up against the closet door. Aya was sprawled out on her single bed, her foot hanging over the edge, mouth half-open with a small drop of drool resting on her cheek, and the covers covering her torso.

"Aya, it's time to wake up," Natsuki said to her comatose daughter as she lightly shook her shoulders. She turned around to get her school uniform out of the near by dresser.

"Grrrr," was the only reaction Natsuki heard. She turned around and saw that Aya had covered her head with her pillow and she flopped her body to lie to her stomach.

"Come on, get up, it's time to get ready for school," Natsuki said pulling the covers and pillow off her sleep determined daughter.

"Mo-mma, please, five more minutes," a yawning and muffled sleepy-eyed Aya asked. She crunched her legs up to her stomach trying to regain the warmth she had when she had the blanket covering her body.

"No, I already let you sleep in a little bit longer," Natsuki said placing Aya's school uniform at the foot of the bed. "Get up please."

"But I'm not ready," Aya whined.

"I wasn't either, but I have to get to work and you have school today", Natsuki said turning to walk out of the bedroom.

Aya slowly rose from her bed; her bed-ridden hair was tossed in every direction under the sun. "Hai, I'm getting up," she said stretching her arms above her head.

"Thank you. Make sure to brush the fuzz off your teeth this time, if I have too, I'll check your breath to make sure you actually did it this time."

"Momma, that's gross."

Natsuki chuckled, "then stop giving me a reason too. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Mayo and toast please," Aya answered pulling her nigh shirt over her head.

"Alright, I'll get it ready. Don't take too long."

Natsuki returned to the kitchen to prepare the mayo-toast and she re-filled her cup of coffee. Ten minutes later Aya came down fully dressed in her uniform and flashing a goofy grin revealing her freshly brushed teeth. "Brushed! Do you need to check?"

Natsuki eyed her daughter up and down to make sure she was telling the truth. The young tomboy was dressed in a white polo shirt and navy blue pants; it was a typical boy's uniform. The first few months of pre-school, Aya absolutely refused to wear the typical girls uniform, which was a navy blue dress. Every single morning Natsuki chased Aya around the house and had to hold her down to put the dress over her head. Natsuki had to convince Aya's school director that allowing Aya to wear the boys uniform would benefit both Aya and the school. It would be less of a headache for Natsuki; the school would get a cooperative student including the money Natsuki paid for tuition. In the end, money talks and they allowed her to wear the boy's uniform.

"I believe you, come on sit down and eat. I need to brush your hair after you eat, you look like an Amazon woman." Natsuki said filling Duran's food and water bowl.

"Hai," Aya said getting up the stool to eat her breakfast and ate her mayo-toast and drank the orange juice her mom served her.

Once breakfast was over for the Kuga's, Natsuki brushed the tangles out of Aya's hair, though not without a few "ouches and ooh's" from her daughter. After Natsuki finished brushing Aya's hair out she let Duran into the house and grabbed her and Aya's jacket out of the closet.

"Ready?"

"Yup," Aya responded putting her jacket and hat on.

"Okay, don't forget your bag," Natsuki said grabbing her keys and briefcase.

"I got it," the young Kuga said grabbing her bag and walking out the front door.

Natsuki locked the front door and walked towards the black CR-V, "you know I might be late a few nights this week," she said to Aya as she saw her daughter climbing into the back seat putting her seatbelt across her waist.

Natsuki saw Aya nod in acceptance from the rear-view mirror as she backed out of the driveway.

The drive to Aya's school was relatively quiet as Natsuki listened to the morning news report while Aya stared out the window. Natsuki heard her cell phone ring when she pulled up to _Sakura Academy_, the ringer identification read 'Harada'; she pressed a button to ignore the incoming call until after Aya was dropped off. Aya unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door to get out, "bye Momma," she called out exiting the SUV.

"Bye, have a good day. I'll try to get home as early as possible tonight. Please behave," Natsuki said while Aya closed the door.

"Hai," Aya shouted waving her hand good bye as she ran to a young boy and girl around her age.

Natsuki watched Aya walk into the entrance of the elementary school with her two friends. She pulled out of the parking spot and pulled her cell phone out to return the missed call.

"_Hey boss," _answered Harada Chie. She and Senoh Aoi managed the research and development for Natsuki's team with Honda. They were good, too good in fact. They managed to pull up information that seemed to be pretty classified. Natsuki never bothered to ask how or where they received their information, she didn't want to know. The only thing she cared about is that they did their job well and they were ridiculously efficient.

"Hey Chie, sorry about not answering, I was dropping Aya off."

"_No problem."_

"What's up? It's not even eight yet, and you're bothering me already."

_"Sorry boss, Aoi and I wanted to give you a head's up before you came into the office. We just found out that they bumped Friday's meeting with the Fujino Corporation to Wednesday."_

"Shit."

_"No kidding. Apparently the head-honcho doesn't want to screw anything up and he's growing impatient with this deal."_

"I know we're pretty much ready, but the extra few days would certainly help. I wasn't expecting to work late until Wednesday."

_"I know. If there were anything we could do we would have I assure you. I know this isn't how you wanted to start your Monday morning, but I figured it was best you heard it from me than someone else."_

"Yeah thanks. Do you know who's attending the presentation?"

_"Yeah, from what we know it's going to be Fujino-san and a couple of their lackeys."_

"Okay, I'll be in the office in about ten minutes. Make sure you find out exactly who is showing up to the presentation and get back to me. What about the demonstration?"

_"If they like what they hear at the meeting, they want a demonstration. Are you going to do it or should I…"_

"Hai. If anything goes wrong during the test drive, we'll need someone who's worked on it long enough to compensate for any problems. I don't trust anyone else besides me."

_"Understood. This is huge you realize?"_

"You think?" Natsuki said sarcastically. "This could mean all of our jobs."

_"I know. I heard that the Fujino's were looking for new areas of business and sponsorship. Who the hell would have guessed they wanted to get into racing? Let alone the American racing market?"_

"They're shopping aren't they?" Natsuki asked.

_"Hai, they have a meeting with Toyota tomorrow than us on Wednesday. You can see why the big bad boss man wants us to have the presentation so soon."_

"Hai, damnit. It doesn't mean I like this."

_"Yeah, I know it sucks. I'll make sure Aoi and I are on top of everything you need to know. We'll see you when you get here."_

"I'll be there in a few minutes, I'm in the parking lot now."

_"Okay boss, I'll see you in a few,"_ was the last thing Chie said before Natsuki hung up on her.

Natsuki walked into the large four-story office building that was located on the outskirt of the city. On an average day, it was only a fifteen-minute drive from Aya's school because it wasn't located in the busy section of the city, which Natsuki appreciated. As she walked down the hallway towards her office, she issued a few polite 'good mornings' to her fellow associates that she crossed until she approached the door to her office. She walked into the spacious office, which was decorated with a few awards she had received over the years as well as a few framed posters of the motorcycles and racecars her team had developed. On her desk was the only personal artifact in her office, it was a framed photo of her and Aya that was taken at a race they attended a few months prior.

She set her briefcase on her desk and slumped into her chair before turning her computer on when she heard a knock at her office door.

_Christ, I'm not even here five minutes._

"Come in," she said rubbing the spot between her eyes as she rocked back on her chair. _It's going to be a long week._

She looked up after a few moments as she saw Chie entering her office with two cups of coffee in her hand while Aoi was only a few steps behind her. Natsuki saw that Chie was wearing a off-white sweater over a long sleeved collared shirt and casual black dress pants and her long bangs covered her mischievous brown eyes and small-framed glasses. She was slightly masculine compared to Aoi whom was wearing a mid-night blue skirt suit that accentuated her kind blue eyes; she was also wearing high heels that allowed her to match Chie's height. Her long brown hair was tied back in a simple ponytail.

Natsuki technically wasn't their superior, but she was the leader in so many deals they worked on together, Chie and Aoi simply called her 'Boss', much to Natsuki's initial discomfort. Chie and Aoi were the same age as Natsuki and managed to move up very quickly within the company, considering they had only worked there two years compared to Natsuki's five. Rumor had it the two of them have been an item for quite a while but Natsuki didn't care what they were as long as they accomplished what she needed them to do to get the job done.

Chie handed Natsuki one of the cups of coffee in her hands, "Here you go Boss."

"Thanks. What brings you two here this early? Didn't we talk just a few minutes ago?" Natsuki said accepting the hot cup of coffee.

"Gomen, we just wanted to find out what the game plan is for the next few days," Aoi asked sitting in a chair across from Natsuki.

"I need to know who our audience is on Wednesday. I really want the two of you to work on the presentation and I want to concentrate on the finishing touches of the prototype." Natsuki said looking at Aoi than Chie.

"Hai, we can handle that. We'll get you the info as soon as we have it," Aoi stated seeing Chie nod in acceptance.

"Thanks. It's going to be a long couple of days. If you two can excuse me for a moment, I have to find someone to pick up Aya from school since the meeting was pushed forward unexpectedly."

"Sure, we'll see you in a bit. We'll let you know if anything changes," Chie said walking out of the office with Aoi.

Natsuki picked up her office phone and dialed a number she knew by heart. As she waited for the other line to pick up, she glanced at the clock on her computer, it was only 9:15 and Natsuki had a throbbing headache.

_"What?"_ Nao answered sharply, skipping the pleasantries.

"Shove it. I need a favor. The presentation with the Fujino Corp was pushed forward and I need to work late tonight and tomorrow. I can probably get Mikoto to watch her tomorrow, but can you pick up Aya from after-school care and keep an eye on her for a while tonight?"

_"Ahh, your lucky Pup. I just found out they cancelled my four o' clock. Yeah, I'll pick her up."_

"Thanks, I owe you."

_"Damn right. You can start by telling me who that woman was I saw you leaving Nuriko's with on Saturday night. Going home after one beer my ass."_

"I'm not going into this with you right now, especially with the shit that's on my plate here at work," Natsuki answered sharply.

_"Uh huh. Judging by the smile on your face, my guess is that it was that Shizuru chick. You plan that? And better yet, did you get lucky?"_

"No I didn't plan on meeting her there, I ran into her at the bar. Two, the answer is no, not that it's any of your damn business."

_"Whatever Pup. I'll bug you about it later; I have to go meet a client anyways. I'll pick up kiddo after school and I'll watch her at your house."_

"Yeah, thanks," Natsuki said ending her end of the conversation, inwardly cursing Nao for mentioning Shizuru. The last thing she needed this week was to be distracted at work by thinking about the crimson-eyed beauty; it was bad enough her dreams were filled with images of the kiss that left her stunned.

* * *

Natsuki was so busy that Monday and Tuesday passed quickly, her team worked late into the night both days putting the final touches on the presentation. Chie and Aoi advised Natsuki that if the representatives for the Tokyo Division of the Fujino Corporation liked what they saw with the motorcycle Natsuki's team had developed they would work with Natsuki's team to develop an improved racecar. Fujino-san would be attending the presentation, which added to the tight pressure they were already under. 

Natsuki arrived at the office earlier than usual on Wednesday and she silently thanked the gods that Aya decided to be cooperative that morning. She probably sensed the tension oozing out of Natsuki's skin that morning, and decided that it was best not to give her mother a hard time.

The emerald-eyed beauty was dressed to impress in her most expensive black pinstripe pants suit and white silk collared shirt. Her cobalt hair was tied back and she wore set of thin silver hoop earrings. She would trade the suit for a pair of relaxed fit jeans and tee shirt any day over the uncomfortable yet stylish suit, but today wasn't a day to screw anything up.

Natsuki was confident in the motorcycle she developed, it was the presentation prior to the demonstration that she was worried about. If they couldn't sell it to them in the conference room than they she could kiss the demonstration good-bye, as well as her job. Thankfully she would leave the selling to Chie and Aoi; they could bullshit the broad side of a barn. Natsuki was too blunt with the corporate monkeys; she referred to the businessmen and women as. She preferred the product to speak for itself.

As she was pacing back and forth in the office, she heard a soft knock on her door, "come in."

"Hey Boss, ready?" Chie asked handing Natsuki a cup of coffee.

"Are you sure she needs that? She's already jumping out of her skin." Aoi whispered in Chie's ear.

Chie looked at Natsuki then to Aoi, "too late now," she shrugged.

Aoi rolled her eyes at her partner in crime then focused her attention on the tension filled beauty pacing in front of her. "Will you relax, we're going to be okay," she stated putting her hand on Natsuki's shoulder to get her to halt her pacing.

"She's right, we'll be okay. Just remember the game plan. We'll handle the business aspect of the deal and if we have any issues with the technicalities, we'll let you answer them. Besides, once they see the bike on the track, especially with you driving it, it'll seal the deal. Now take a few deep breaths and let's in the conference room." Chie added patting Natsuki on the back.

"H-hai," Natsuki said taking a few deep breaths trying to calm her nerves.

"Before any of us forget, do you have your gear?" Aoi asked Natsuki as she walked out of the office towards the conference room.

"I have it in the car, I'm going to drive to the track. I'll need a few moments to myself before the demonstration." Natsuki said calmly as she tried to control her nerves.

The three of them walked down the hallway that led to the conference room, Chie and Aoi were the first to walk in and sit on their end of the long table that was placed in the middle of the room. Natsuki walked in after them, she noticed a few people grouped together on one end of the table, but ignored them to sit next to Chie and Aoi.

Natsuki's attention was on the paperwork in front of her lying on the table when she heard a distinctive feminine Kyoto accent. Her head jerked up to make confirm the voice she heard belonged to the person she was hoping it didn't belong too. Her suspicions were confirmed as she saw the small group of people spread out to their respective seats. Standing directly across from her was Shizuru, to her left and right were her friends Haruka, Yukino and Reito.

Shocked viridian eyes connected with the calm crimson eyes. If Shizuru was as stunned as Natsuki, she wasn't showing it. "Wh-what are you doing here?" Natsuki asked because she was too stunned to make the connection.

"Umm, Natsuki, they are the Fujino representatives," Aoi confirmed. "I gave you the paperwork yesterday, did you look at it?"

"Does the reaction on my face say I looked at it?" Natsuki questioned forgetting who was around her.

Shizuru giggled softly at Natsuki's reaction and the two of them looked at each other once again. A wide variety of emotions were running through Natsuki neither one stronger than the other.

"Natsuki, may I present to you Fujino Shizuru, Kanzaki Reito, Suzushiro Haruka and Kikukaw Yukino," Chie introduced politely to break the obvious tension. As they were each introduced they bowed.

Natsuki returned the bow reluctantly, "Excuse me a moment," Natsuki flinched as she walked out of the conference room. She felt multiple sets of eyes watching her exit, at that moment she was too angry to care. The fuming raven-hair beauty didn't realize that Reito had followed her until she heard her name being called. She turned around to face him; he had a calm exterior and that ticked Natsuki off even more. Everyone else was prepared for this and she apparently wasn't.

"What?" Natsuki snapped as she glared at the handsome man in front of her.

"She didn't know," Reito simply stated. He was dressed in an expensive black suit and black and white striped tie.

"What do you mean?" Natsuki huffed crossing her arms.

"Shizuru didn't know until late last night that you were going to be here. None of us did."

"It doesn't matter, it's just business right?" Natsuki said sarcastically avoiding eye contact. A newly formed pang in her chest was getting stronger the more she tried to convince herself she didn't care.

"Do you really believe that?" Reito asked in a composed manner. His facial expressions revealed no emotions, but his tone suggested otherwise.

"Where are you going with this? I wasn't prepared to see her or any of you. I like being prepared, especially when it's a project of this magnitude. It isn't anyone's fault but my own, I should have read the paperwork." It was true, but not the entire truth Natsuki thought to herself.

"Hai. I just wanted to come out and make that clear."

"Thanks for your concern, I just need a few moments to collect myself if you don't mind." Natsuki said as politely as her emotions would allow.

"Yes, I'll do that. Natsuki-san…"

"Please, it's still Natsuki. At least outside of the office," she corrected Reito.

"Hai, the same applies to me. When you get the chance, please talk to her. She doesn't need me to fight her battles as you probably have seen, but I strongly advise that you speak to her about this matter." Reito stated walking in the direction of the conference room.

"I'll try, that's the best I can offer at the moment," she answered quietly.

"Arigato," he thanked before he walked into the conference room.

Natsuki spent a few more minutes collecting her emotions outside the conference room. When she felt ready to face Shizuru she walked into the room and circled the table to stand next to a seated Chie and Aoi.

"Gomen nasai, please forgive my behavior," she said bowing to the four representatives in front of her.

"It's quite all right, I'm sure it was quite shocking to see the four of us," Yukino accepted the apology on behalf of her colleagues.

Chie and Aoi looked at each other confused, the looks on their faces revealed that they were really out of the loop. "Do you know each other?" Aoi asked.

"No," Natsuki answered firmly staring at Shizuru as she sat down in her designated seat between Aoi and Chie.

"No it appears that we do not," Shizuru confirmed in a placid tone. She kept her eye contact with Natsuki but her eyes didn't reveal emotion nor did her facial expression, just a small practiced grin spread across her face.

"Okay, so shall we get started?" Chie asked trying to break the silence.

"We're ready whenever you are." Haruka chimed in.

* * *

The opening presentation lasted about 45 minutes and it appeared the Fujino's were impressed with everything. Natsuki noted that the real Fujino didn't reveal a single emotion the whole time; she held the same pensive look the whole time. It bothered Natsuki more than you would ever admit; she didn't understand how the woman in front of her could be so damn collected. 

_Was she as shocked as I was when she found out? Did Saturday night mean anything to her? Was Reito telling the truth or did she play me for a fool? Why do I care? Damnit, my job is on the line and the only thing I can think about is Shizuru, what the hell is wrong with me?_

While Natsuki was kicking her ass mentally, she glanced up for a second to notice Shizuru was looking at her with the same placid facial expression but her rustic eyes revealed something softer, it melted the left over anger Natsuki felt towards the woman in front of her. Maybe she didn't know.

"…And that concludes the first part of our presentation. Do you have any questions for us?" Chie said snapping Natsuki's focus back to business.

"No. I like your plan. It's well executed and it appears to be very promising. I have been informed that there will be a demonstration." Shizuru said in a very business-like manner, her focus returning to Aoi and Chie in the front.

"Hai, Fujino-san. We will have to travel to the track that is roughly fifteen minutes from here. If you would like to see the bike in action we can head over there as soon as you're ready." Chie said.

"Okini, I would appreciate that. Who will be performing the demonstration?"

"I will be," Natsuki answered.

"You?" Shizuru turned her head to look at Natsuki.

"Yes. It's my design, I feel I should be the one to get the first go-around." Natsuki said with pride.

"I will have to agree Natsuki-san," Shizuru agreed as she got up from her seat. "Shall we go now?"

"Hai, ready?" she asked everyone.

"Yeah, we need to clean up a bit, we'll meet you outside in a few minutes." Aoi responded picking up her paperwork.

Everyone walked in silence for the few minutes it took to get to the parking lot. Now that Natsuki's shock had worn off, she was able to take a good look at Shizuru as they were standing around in the parking lot. She saw that Shizuru was wearing a perfectly tailored vanilla colored knee-length skirt and matching jacket and a deep red shirt underneath. The red shirt only brought out her eyes even more, and Natsuki was speechless for an entirely different reason it also brought out a pink tint across her features.

"Are you okay?" Shizuru asked quietly when she noticed the blush across Natsuki's face.

"I'm fine," Natsuki replied looking away.

"I would like to talk to you when we get a moment alone."

"About what?" Natsuki asked sharply. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come off that harsh, I'm still in a bit of shock."

"I understand," Shizuru stated pensively.

Their conversation was cut short as Chie walked towards Natsuki, "you ready?" Chie asked.

"Hai, I'll meet everyone there. I have my gear in my car and the bike is already at the track."

"Shizuru-san, are you ready to go?" Reito asked properly in front of everyone.

"I think I'm going to ride with Natsuki-san, if that's okay with her," Shizuru responded looking at Natsuki for approval, she received it with a simple nod.

Natsuki avoided the quizzical glances she was receiving from everyone, especially Aoi and Chie. She figured they had idea of what was going on but she still wanted to remain professional and as discreet as possible. At the same time, she didn't know what was going on so how could anyone else know? However, they had a sick intuition and the last thing she wanted was to be included in the office gossip the two of them spread; she had accomplished to stay out of it. Then again, they weren't around when Aya was born and that gossip had subsided years ago when the events became old news.

"Okay…uhhh…we'll see you there, Natsuki," Chie said clearing her throat.

Shizuru and Natsuki walked in silence across the parking lot to the car and when they both got in, the tension was still evident. "Why didn't you tell me your name?" Natsuki solemnly asked breaking the silence as her hands were rested on the steering wheel. Her eyes looked forward so that crimson-eyed beauty couldn't see the confusion in them.

"Ano, I did tell you my name," Shizuru answered matter-of-factly staring at Natsuki's profile.

Natsuki looked to her right and caught an uncertain look on the passenger's face. "You're kidding me right," she pulling out of the parking lot onto the main road.

"No, I said my name is Shizuru. Did I not tell the truth?"

"That's not what I mean and you damn well know it. For gods sakes, my kid almost kicked the crap out of a Fujino, a Fujino!" Natsuki's voice began to rise, "Do you know what this means?"

"I'm not sure at the moment, but I'm sure you want to tell me," Shizuru replied sarcastically as she turned her head to look out the passenger side window.

"Don't be a smart ass. Forgive me if I'm still stunned with all of this, I sure as hell wasn't expecting to see you in that conference room. My brain hasn't completely grasped the situation."

"What situation is this? I said my name was Shizuru, which it is, but I didn't disclose my family name. I don't see the major issue."

_Damnit, I haven't figured it out either._ "It would have been nice to know that my kid got into a fight with a heir to one of the largest corporations in Japan." It was another half-truth Natsuki had reasoned with. "Damn I'm an idiot." Natsuki said quietly, she blushed when she realized she had vocalized the last statement out loud.

"Why would it have mattered?"

"Do you always answer a question or a statement with another question?" Natsuki asked flustered.

"Do I do that?"

Natsuki's only response was a growl. "Ara, you weren't the fool, it was me who was the fool to actually believe that my family name wouldn't mean anything to you." Shizuru said with a hint of disguised melancholy.

Natsuki heard her tone as her frustration slowly melted and she turned her attention to Shizuru whom was still staring out the passenger window so she couldn't read her features. "Shouldn't I be the judge whether I care if your family name means anything to me?" Natsuki asked softly.

Shizuru turned her head to look at Natsuki who had returned her focus on the road ahead of her. "Possibly."

Natsuki made a right and pulled into a parking spot close to the track and turned the vehicle off. She turned towards Shizuru and as she made eye contact she caught a remnant of Saturday's glimmer, and instinctively knew that no one else would have seen this. She had a carefully guarded exterior Natsuki observed the question is why? "Look, one of the most important things you should know about me is that I appreciate honesty. Maybe it's the way I grew up, but I don't get hung up on names or formalities."

"I won't apologize for my indiscretion Natsuki. The Fujino name is more of a burden in my life than a benefit." Shizuru's crimson eyes became determined and the expression on her beautiful features was eerily cool.

"How so?" Natsuki asked slightly taken aback by the brutal honesty.

"Most of the time if when I reveal my full name… I see the expressions on their faces. I'm an intelligent woman. I've been dealing with it my whole life. They see many things when they find out my name, mainly my family's money and power. The last thing I need is another member of my fan club." The chestnut-beauty's guard dropped completely for a moment, her crimson eyes never left Natsuki's emerald gaze.

Natsuki broke the eye contact once again and lowered her head at the admission, "I hope you didn't see that in me. If you did, that wasn't my intention."

It took a few moments until Natsuki could steel herself to look back to her companion, and an empty silence started to establish itself. Just when Natsuki thought she had ended a budding relationship of any kind, a golden giggle shattered the silence.

"I'm sorry, I'm normally not like this as I'm sure you've noticed. Natsuki doesn't appear to be the fan club type." Shizuru said with a lightened tone, her mischievous grin returned in an apparent attempt to lighten the mood.

"Heh, they're not for me. Who needs the hassle," Natsuki said returning the grin.

"Let me tell you, it's a headache."

"I bet! I'm sure you handle it well. Someone as attra--" a blush spreading across Natsuki's face. "Damnit," she flinched.

Shizuru giggled at the almost compliment, "What was it you were going to say?" She teased which caused Natsuki's blush to deepen.

"…Someone as accomplished as you…should be able to handle it well…I would imagine." Was Natsuki's lame attempt to cover up her faux paus.

"Ask again and you just may find out, but not now. Right now I think we should probably start over," Shizuru said turning her body in the seat to face Natsuki, a natural smile broadened as she offered a hand, "I'm Fujino Shizuru, nice to meet you."

Natsuki couldn't help but giggle at the gesture, "Kuga Natsuki, very nice meeting you as well," she said slowly shaking the offered hand. She felt the same electricity she felt on Saturday but she didn't have time to dwell on the feelings, they were already running late for their demonstration. "Shall we go, I know we're running late and I still have to change."

"I'm ready when you are Natsuki." Shizuru responded as the two of them exited the vehicle.

Natsuki walked around the back of the CR-V to grab her gear and helmet, but "Umm…Shizuru, you really didn't know did you?"

"Not until last night." She said wryly, "but I can't say that I mind."

"S-Shizuru," the cobalt-haired beauty responded in full tomato blush mode.

"Ara, ara, I think red looks very good on Natsuki," Shizuru giggled as she saw tomato turn purple. "Purple too."

"Baka! You're relentless. Now can we please go? I'm not looking forward to having my ass chewed off by Haruka." Natsuki feigned annoyance as she closed the trunk door to the CR-V.

Shizuru couldn't contain another giggle as the two of them walked side-by-side to the track.

* * *

The Honda WLF 621 had a successful exhibition at the racetrack and Natsuki couldn't believe that she didn't encounter any malfunctions with the bike. She would normally encounter small issues with the clutch or gearshift during the first or second trial runs with other motorcycles but luckily this one ran smoothly. The cobalt-beauty couldn't help but feel a swell of pride rise inside of her nor could she help the smile that formed on her face when she saw the expression on Shizuru's face after she was finished. 

The raven hair beauty was dressed in her black and red skin-tight leather racing gear and black helmet. She preferred the leather to the new materials that were out on the market, she felt it was more aerodynamic which allowed her to reach higher speeds. It was also less itchy.

A helmeted Natsuki walked over to a smiling Shizuru who was standing by herself, she was relieved her face was covered at the moment, she was fully aware her face was red again. Chie, Aoi, Haruka and Yukino were a few yards away and could be heard talking financial details and project information. The only thing she cared about was whether they got the deal and to get the opinion from the crimson-eyed beauty ahead of her.

Natsuki waited a little bit to remove her helmet when she approached Shizuru, "So what do you think?" She asked fixing her messy ponytail.

"Very promising. I like what I see." Shizuru teased looking at Natsuki with what appeared to be admiration.

Natsuki blushed at the tease, "How many times do you plan on doing that to me?"

"What's that?" A mischievous grin plastered to Shizuru's striking face.

"You know damn well what," she teased back. "God that felt great. I don't think there's a better feeling in the world than riding a bike. It lets out all of my adrenaline and it just relaxes me." She blushed again at the admission.

"It looks very good on Natsuki."

"What does?" Natsuki asked confused.

"All of it."

Natsuki rolled her eyes at the vague responses. "All of what?" She asked with a small chuckle.

"Ara, I didn't think Natsuki was that dense," Shizuru received a scowl at the tease. "I don't know how to describe it. You looked free and very confident, like you belonged."

"T-thanks. I love what I do and when it all comes together like it did a few minutes ago, I can't help but feel…I don't know…different. But in a good way, you know?" Smiling viridian eyes gazed into the equally responsive deep reds in front of her and saw the radiant smile she forgot she missed.

"H-hai, I think I know what you mean," Shizuru stumbled a bit.

"So, Shizuru-san, will I have a job next week or should I prepare my resume?" Natsuki teased, raising her eyebrow in jest.

"Yes Natsuki-san, you will definitely have a job next week and the months that follow. I made my decision already. It appears that our associates are discussing it right now, but the deal probably won't be solidified until later this week or early next week. There will be a lot of paperwork involved and a lot of negotiating but we will handle all of that."

Suddenly Natsuki felt a pang of guilt, "Wait, you're not accepting the deal because of…?" Natsuki's smile turned into a nervous frown.

As if Shizuru could read her mind, "No, not at all. I've been doing this long enough to know a sure thing when I see it."

Natsuki felt the gentleness in Shizuru's but saw a tint of pink glide underneath her eyes and that action enough caused her to reciprocate. I know I can be dense, but is she…

Chie interrupted her thoughts, "Hey Boss, it appears that everything has been green-lighted. We were discussing going out for a drink to celebrate. I know it's kind of early but I think it's deserved."

The raven-haired biker broke her eye contact with Shizuru to focus on their co-workers that were standing only a few feet away. "No thanks, but you guys go ahead. You deserve it. I need to pick up Aya pretty soon. I should get home."

"You sure?" Aoi asked.

"Hai, have fun though. Don't get into trouble," she joked.

"Oh they won't, I'll make sure of it," Haruka huffed in seriousness as everyone started walking towards the parking lot.

"Do you need a ride back to the office?" Natsuki asked quietly to Shizuru so everyone else wouldn't hear her; they already drew enough attention to themselves for one day.

"I would love to, but I should probably ride with Reito and the others. There are a few more details that need to be discussed before I go home tonight." Shizuru answered reluctantly.

"I understand. I need to get home and change out of this before I go pick Aya up," the biker said glancing down at her leathers.

"Ara, I think it suits Natsuki quite nicely," Shizuru whispered in Natsuki's ear that caused a shudder to ride down her spine.

"Sh-Shizuru," the blushing biker quivered trying to shake off the tingles and she glanced around them and noticed none of their associates were paying attention. "I give up," she sighed.

"Hmmm?" Shizuru feigned innocence.

"Oh please, spare me for two minutes."

The mischievous grin returned to the beautiful woman's features, "Okay, I'll leave you be…for now."

"Thank you," Natsuki said rolling her eyes. She walked up to the CR-V and placed her helmet in the back along with her suit she wore earlier in the day. "Are we still on for Saturday? Or will this deal be a complication?"

"We'll be there. Once the deal is complete, I'll be by your building every so often. This deal is quite large however it's not the only one I'm working on at the moment. So if you're worried about a conflict of interest, you shouldn't be."

"Good. Umm…is it possible for me to have your cell number or office number, just in case something happens and we aren't able to make it or we run late?" Natsuki asked nervously.

"Ara, are you planning on canceling?" Shizuru teased.

"No, no, I was just…"

Natsuki realized she been outdone and observed the usually reserved beauty chuckle a little louder and a little longer than she'd seen before, "Are you finished?" Her face was crimson again. _Why do I keep falling for her teases?_

"Yes, I'm fine thank you. You can have my cell number, it's the best number to reach me." Shizuru managed to get out through the laughing fit.

The two of them exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet at the park 10:30 Saturday morning with Aya and Kouta.

They said their good-byes and Shizuru walked closer to Natsuki's ear and whispered, "Safe drive home Nat-su-ki," her hand brushed lightly against the leather and walked towards Reito's car. She didn't bother to see the purple that rose from Natsuki's chest to her ears in less than two seconds.

The biker didn't know if it was the way Shizuru said her name or the light contact against her arm that caused her heart to thump between her ears, she could only manage a quiet "Shizuru" under her breath. _Probably both, she could have said 'miso soup' in that tone and I would have reacted the same way_. She allowed herself a few moments to calm herself down and stepped into the CR-V. The cobalt-haired beauty felt a warm smile creep across her face; _I'm in a lot of trouble._

* * *

Okay, such a predictable ending, but you know what it's like when you stare and stare at something for so long that you brain becomes numb, yeah yeah, that's what happened here. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I really didn't mean for it to be as long as it turned out to be but I couldn't stop writing. I know many of you want to know Shizuru's back-story and I assure you it'll come soon. The time frame is also going to progress pretty soon as well, four chapters for less than a week in Shizuru/Natsuki time, we won't get anywhere :). 


	5. Play Date

Holy shit Batman! Another chapter. Sorry it took so long, life has been pretty hectic lately. Again a longer update, I swear I can't help it, I forced myself to cut it shorter, still not sure why. Umm, I think there's more dialogue in this chapter than the previous chapters, I wanted to let them tell their story. Some areas I got stuck on and rushed a bit, you'll be able to tell I'm sure.

I probably missed a couple of reviews from the last chapter, I was having internet problems lately, but I'll make sure to respond soon. Thanks to everyone who is taking the time to read this. As always, honest reviews and critiques are welcome and PM's. Hope it gives you a smile when you read it.

This chapter is dedicated to my beta and little buddy **Miggitdog**, I want to put another smile on her face. I didn't want to burden her right now, so I tried to edit as best I could, yikes I know.

Of course my senpai **yurianimeotaku** and my pal **ShotgunNeko**, Arigato you two.

**I do not own Mai HiME/ Otome or it's character's and I cry about it everyday.**

* * *

The workweek had finally ended for the Kuga's much to the elder's relief. As stressful as the beginning and middle were, the final two days were just the opposite. Chie and Aoi were able to secure the deal with the Fujino Corporation and that meant Natsuki was green-lighted to develop the racecar for them. Aya had a half-day on Friday and it gave Natsuki an excuse to cut her workweek a little shorter so she picked her up from school and the two of them went out to lunch together and took Duran for a walk when they got home. Well, Natsuki walked while Aya rode her Razor scooter around the block. 

It was now Saturday morning and the raven-haired biker woke up earlier than she wanted too. She had a restless-nights sleep, she was anxiously excited to see Shizuru again but a little nervous about Aya's reaction to Kouta, it was quite obvious it would take a miracle for the two of them to get along. On Thursday evening she had nervously called Shizuru to confirm that they were still on for today, and much to Natsuki's astonishment the honey-haired beauty could cause her to blush even when they weren't physically present. _How can the woman turn a simple 'yes' into a tease? _

The showered and coffee-induced biker was getting ready to go to the park; she was half-dressed in her jeans, socks and a white sports bra. "Aya!" Natsuki shouted from her bedroom.

"What!" Aya yelled from the family room. Natsuki could tell she was watching cartoons by the sounds coming from the television.

"Come up here!" Natsuki yelled and she immediately heard the pitter-patter of footsteps charging up the stairs and walking into her bedroom was her wide-eyed daughter and excited dog.

"I didn't do it," the out of breath little Kuga said defensively. She was already dressed in her play clothes: her pale blue sweatshirt, jogging pants and tennis shoes and as always, her favorite hat worn backwards.

"Did I say you did anything? But now I'm starting to wonder," Natsuki questioned lightly with her right eyebrow rose as she glanced at her daughter.

"Mo-mma," Aya feigned, "I didn't do anything," the young Kuga continued, her nose crinkled at her mom's gesture.

Natsuki couldn't help but chuckle at Aya's expression, "You don't want to hold that look for too long, it'll get stuck."

"Momma," Aya giggled, "are we going?"

"Hai," Natsuki said walking into her closet. Pulling out two different shirts, one was a short sleeved emerald green shirt that matched her eyes, the other was a dark blue shirt with horizontal lines, "which one?" Natsuki asked shaking the green one with her left hand and the other shirt in the right.

"What?" Aya asked dumbfound, her face matching the expression.

"Humor me, which shirt should I wear?" _I have resorted to asking a four year old what I should wear._

Aya glanced at Duran as if she was looking for his opinion, than gazed at her mother who was fidgeting in front of the mirror, alternating each shirt in front of her chest. "…Umm, the green one…"

"Really?" Natsuki's attention returned to the four year old.

"…Hai. I like the green one…"

"Me too. Okay, go downstairs and wait for me, I'll be down in a couple of minutes," Natsuki shooed the very confused Aya out of the bedroom with Duran following her example.

Aya quickly turned around and stood at the door with her arms on her hips, "Momma, you're acting really weird. And why do you smell funny?" Aya asked with the same crinkle nosed expression.

_You don't have to tell me that, perceptive little booger_, thought to herself. "O-out" Natsuki stumbled pointing her finger towards the hallway.

"Okay, okay," Aya exaggerated as she turned around and walked towards the stairs.

Natsuki quickly dressed in the green shirt her daughter picked out for her, grabbed her wallet and keys from the dresser and met her daughter in the family room. "Ready?"

Aya shot up from the couch, "Hai!" She walked towards her mother, "Can we bring Duran-chan?"

"Not today," Natsuki responded petting the Labrador before she walked out the door.

The Kuga's walked casually the few blocks it took to get to the playground, Aya walked ahead of Natsuki when the playground was in their sights. Aya was about to take off when Natsuki grabbed her by the arm, "Hold up."

"I see it." Aya said anxiously pointing.

"I see it too, but you're not going to run off like that. Take your time, it isn't going anywhere," Natsuki held onto Aya's hand and continued walking. "Please behave today, I don't want a repeat of Saturday."

"Momma, he started it." The little Kuga pouted.

"Maybe. No hitting either, got it? If you have to, play with the other kids," Natsuki glared at Aya who was still pouting.

"Awwww, fine. Can I go now?" Aya asked exasperated.

Natsuki let go of Aya's hand when they got to the entrance of the playground, before she could say anything Aya dashed to the large wooded jungle gym a few meters ahead of them. When she saw her daughter climb up the metal stairs she found a near-by bench to sit on, making sure Aya was within eyesight.

After a few minutes, Natsuki started getting anxious and looked at her watch; it was 10:40 and Shizuru and Kouta were running late. _Maybe they aren't coming. _Natsuki checked her cell phone to see if she missed any calls; she didn't. Before her mind could wonder any further, she saw a short, honey-haired boy run towards the jungle gym, but she didn't see Shizuru, so she wasn't sure if it was Kouta.

Natsuki rose from the park bench and slowly walked in the direction of the jungle gym to get a better look at the young boy but the other children surrounded him. She sighed and turned around only to see Shizuru casually dressed in jeans and a dark violet hooded sweatshirt, approach the park-bench wearing another one of her radiant smiles. Natsuki couldn't help but return the smile despite the flutter in her stomach. She walked towards the crimson-eyed woman, "H-hi. You made it," she stumbled as she stood in front of Shizuru.

"Hai, sorry for running a little late. We ran into a little bit of traffic on the way here."

"No problem, just glad you could make it. Would you like to sit down?" Natsuki offered.

"Yes. I take it this is a good place to keep an eye on the children?" Shizuru asked while she sat down on the bench.

"Yeah, I've already warned Aya that I didn't want a repeat of last Saturday, so I thought it would be best to pick a spot where I could keep an eye on her." Natsuki said while sitting down next to Shizuru leaving a little distance between the two of them.

"Ara, I think it turned out quite fine. Wouldn't you agree?" Shizuru giggled looking at a blushing Natsuki.

"Baka," Natsuki cringed as the blush spread across her face. "That's not what I meant and you know it. And you couldn't go two minutes could you?" She asked turning her head away trying to control the raging blush.

"Two minutes?"

Natsuki turned her head and peeked at Shizuru, she had another mischievous expression on her face. "You know damn well what I'm talking about," she said giving a half-hearted _Kuga Death Glare_.

Shizuru only giggled at the _glare_, "But red looks good on Natsuki."

"Yeah yeah, as I've said before and I'm sure I'll say it again, you're relentless. One of these days I'll learn to control it in front of you." Natsuki's looked face down as the blush deepened.

"I certainly hope not, it's very cute on you Natsuki."

Before Natsuki could respond, she felt an arm drape across her shoulders and she turned her head and noticed immediately it wasn't Shizuru's arm, she than heard an all too familiar voice, "Isn't it? Red is a lovely shade on my Pup. Honey, sorry I'm late. I got caught up in a meeting. I see you made a new friend."

Natsuki looked up to notice her annoying best friend bending down with her arm hugging her closely and turned her face to see a somewhat shocked expression on Shizuru's face. "What…honey, what the hell?" Natsuki shook her head in horror and looked at Shizuru again and heard Nao laughing behind her. "She isn't…I mean…"

"Natsuki, don't lie to the woman. Tell her what you call me when it's just the two of us in bed together." Nao pouted as she released her grip on the stunned biker and walked around the bench to face her.

"Nao! What the hell are you doing here?" Natsuki shouted at the red head as she rose from the bench, "I swear I'm going to--" Natsuki was cut off when she felt herself being pounced from behind, she felt two arms come across her waist and squeezed and she felt a chin lie on her shoulder.

The stunned cobalt-haired beauty turned her head slightly to see that it was Shizuru with the same mischievous grin plastered to her face, had her wrapped up in a tight hug and she felt the blush rise from the pit of her stomach to her face. She immediately jerked her head in the other direction making every attempt possible to control her embarrassment and keep her legs from giving out. Her emotions and other senses were taking over though as she felt a warm shock at the contact and the aroma of baby powder and honey took over her mind and body. _Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit._

"You're going to what my love? Are you cheating on me?" Nao cut her off with an exaggerated pout as Natsuki's attention returned to Nao; she was giving her the certified _Kuga Death Glare_. And if the obnoxious red head was surprised by the other woman's embrace she didn't show it.

"Gah, hell no!" Natsuki's face was crimson red as she yelled at Nao yet again and broke out of Shizuru's hug, she stumbled a bit after escaping the embrace. She frantically looked at Nao and Shizuru, her attention bouncing back and forth between the two of them like a tennis ball.

Shizuru giggled at the two as she backed away from Natsuki a little bit, "I'm sorry Natsuki, I didn't realize you were so in love. Maybe I should find another place to sit."

"What? No, no, no. She's not my…she's my friend…I don't…I…" Natsuki responded anxiously.

Natsuki realized a few moments later that she was the only one who fell for the joke as Nao and Shizuru couldn't contain their laughing fit. "Baka," she huffed crossing her arms and she turned her back to the women laughing at her expense.

"Ha-ha-ha, it was too good to pass up Pup," Nao's laughter increased in volume and she was holding her stomach.

Natsuki turned around still frazzled at Nao's little game, "Shove it," she said quietly.

"Awe, it's just a joke. Don't get so bent out of shape."

"Ara, Natsuki, it was pretty funny," Shizuru added still giggling; she wiped a tear that released from the corner of her eye.

"Please don't encourage her Shizuru." Natsuki said rolling her eyes at the giggling women in front of her. For the moment, the crimson had subsided to a faint pink color though she was still embarrassed because she was the only one who didn't catch onto the _joke_.

"Ah, so you're the famous Shizuru," Nao turned her attention to the Kyoto-ben and introduced herself, "I'm Nao. Pups best friend."

"Nice to meet you Nao-san." Shizuru greeted politely with a bow.

"It's just Nao, I hate that formal crap." Nao said offering her hand.

Shizuru lightly shook the fiery red head's hand. "Okay, nice to meet you Nao. What brings you to the park? Do you have kids as well?"

"Hell no, not me. I came by to check up on the Pup here, she mentioned she had a _play _date today. I wanted to make sure she wasn't screwing anything up," Nao said with a smirk.

"Nao! It's not a date." Natsuki gasped, "I didn't tell her it was a date," shaking her head as her attention returned to Shizuru.

"It's not?" The Kyoto beauty pouted for a moment than broke into another giggle fit.

Natsuki growled at the reaction, "Shizuru."

Luckily the attention was removed from Natsuki when they saw Aya running towards them and Kouta was a few legs behind her. "Aunt Nao!" The young Kuga shouted as she hugged Nao.

"Hey kiddo. How are you?" Nao asked while she returned the hug.

"Good," she turned around to glance at her mother than to Shizuru.

An out of breath Kouta finally caught up to the group and touched Aya's shoulder, "Are you done playing?" He bent down with his hands on his knees, his breathing coming back to normal.

"I called time-out!" Aya said, sticking her tongue out at the boy in front of her.

"You did not," he said stubbornly returning the gesture.

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-huh." Kouta countered as he walked back to be in the presence of his mother.

"Good to see the two of you are getting along so well," Natsuki said rubbing the tension filled spot between her eyes, _how could I forget that these two don't get along_?

"It's good to see you again Aya," Shizuru said with a warm smile as if she was trying to break the tension between the children.

The young tomboy returned the smile nervously and a pink tint spread across her features. "Hi," she said quietly.

Natsuki giggled to herself at her daughter's reaction, _it appears Shizuru has that effect on us Kuga's_, she thought inwardly. She glimpsed at the shy brown-eyed boy who was hiding behind his mother's legs. "Hi Kouta, how are you?" She asked warmly.

"F-fine, thank you," he responded nervously and a small smile eventually crossed his face.

"That's good. Kouta, I want you to meet a friend of ours, this is Nao."

"Hey kid, what's up?" Nao waved.

"Hi," he responded with a quick wave.

"Well, your moms are going to walk around the corner to get me a cup of coffee. I'm gonna hang here for a while the two of you play. Sound good?" Nao asked the budding rivals than turned to give Natsuki an exaggerated wink.

"You are? We are?" Natsuki asked dumbfounded.

"Okini, that's a great idea." They Kyoto-ben agreed with a smirk.

"…Mom…?" Kouta questioned looking upwards to meet his mother's gaze.

"Don't be such a wimp, Aunt Nao is cool," the hotheaded Kuga snapped with her arms on her hips.

"I'm not a wimp," Kouta said defensively his brown-eyes narrowed at the girl that appeared to get on his last nerve.

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-huh."

"This isn't a good idea," Natsuki said looking at Shizuru and Nao.

"Sure it is," Nao said disagreeing. "Hey, ankle-biters, go play, shoo," Nao commanded Aya and Kouta.

"Did you just shoo away my son?" Shizuru asked but couldn't contain another chuckle.

"Yes I did. Now you two," pointing to the parents, "go. I need my coffee. And you two, go-play-now." Pointing in the direction of the jungle gym.

The two children froze in shock for a moment than stared at each other for a moment. Aya was the first to run towards the jungle gym, "Un-times" she shouted running full speed ahead.

"No fair," Kouta yelled back as he started sprinting to catch up to the _cheater_.

"Fine, you both win. We'll be back in fifteen minutes. You think you can keep the peace for that long?" Natsuki asked shaking her head in disbelief.

"Piece of cake," Nao responded flatly.

"Yeah right. Just don't let Aya harm another soul, she's the one I'm worried about."

"You worry too much Pup, now go! Nao needs her coffee."

"Baka, fine. Are you sure about this?" The raven-haired beauty turned to ask her _date._

"Hai, I need to stop by my car to get my purse."

"Okay. We'll be back shortly," Natsuki called over her shoulder as she and Shizuru started walking out the entrance of the playground.

The two of them walked in silence for a few moments as they approached Shizuru's car, it was a silver Honda Civic Hybrid. Natsuki couldn't help but laugh quietly at the small irony, "Hmm, a Honda huh?"

"It's fate, although I bought the car last year, long before this deal came through," Shizuru teased.

_Fate huh? _"Heh, maybe. We do make a great product though and I'm pretty sure you aren't the only one who purchased a Honda last year." Natsuki deflected the tease and formed a small smile.

Shizuru ginned at the comment as she pulled her purse out of the car and locked it with the keypad. They walked to the coffee shop matching stride for stride, Natsuki noticed that Shizuru was a tiny bit taller than her or maybe it was the way the honey-haired beauty carried her self. She was very graceful and elegant she mused even when she was in a casual atmosphere like the park.

Natsuki realized she was staring when Shizuru spoke and broke her revere. "So, how long have you and Nao-san known each other?"

"Huh…oh, umm, we were roommates throughout college. She's loud and obnoxious but she's harmless."

"I gathered as much. And Aya calls her 'Aunt Nao'," Shizuru questioned hesitantly.

"Yeah, Nao and Aya are close. I guess you can say Nao's her Godmother of sorts. Luckily Aya hasn't picked up too many of her bad habits," Natsuki chuckled.

Shizuru returned the sentiment at the last comment, "You two do seem close. I thought I was the only one who made Natsuki blush." Her eyebrow quirked up at the tease.

Natsuki's blush returned but smiled at the statement. "Yeah, you both seem to have that effect but for entirely different reasons," she answered honestly.

Shizuru blushed at the admission, "Were you two…?"

Before Shizuru could complete the question, Natsuki answered quickly, "No, never. I'm almost positive her attraction lies only in men. Besides, we'd kill each other. I think our relationship is more sisterly than anything and she's really been there for us, especially Aya. I'm grateful for her, but don't tell her I said so, I'll never live it down if she found out."

"I won't tell her, your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks. You can probably tell she's a handful. Sometimes I think Aya's more mature than Nao," Natsuki laughed.

They approached the café and Natsuki held the door opened for Shizuru and a couple of other patrons. As they stood in the long line, Natsuki asked randomly, "Shizuru, how old are you?"

"Ara, did anyone ever teach you it's not wise to ask a woman their age?" Shizuru asked playfully.

"Baka. No actually, no one did, so spill." Natsuki played back.

"I'll be twenty-eight in December."

"Kouta?"

"He'll be seven this year. You?"

"Twenty-seven in August, Aya will be five in June. It appears we became moms at roughly the same age. There's one thing we have in common." Natsuki said smiling.

"Hai, I'm sure there's more as well," Shizuru said returning the smile brightly.

"I intend to find out. Shizuru—" Natsuki's viridian orbs locked with Shizuru's rustic when she was about to ask another question. She was cut off by the ringing of her cell phone, the caller identification read _Nao_, "Baka, what? We're next in line, it's only been twenty minutes." Natsuki answered her phone annoyed that they were interrupted.

"_Cool it Pup, it's the kids. Get over here now. Kouta—" Nao_ said frantically as she was cut off by Natsuki.

"What's wrong with Kouta?" Shizuru turned her focus to Natsuki when she heard her frantic tone in her question.

"_Pup, I don't know. He's not breathing right."_

"Natsuki, we have to go now!" Shizuru's eyes were wide with panic, she obviously overheard Nao, "I have his inhaler with me. I have to get it to him."

Natsuki focused on the panic-stricken Shizuru and put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her, "It's okay, let's get the hell out of here." She closed her cell phone assuming Nao heard her as well.

Natsuki grabbed Shizuru's hand and they pushed people out of the way as they exited the café. The two of them ran as fast as they could avoiding human traffic along the sidewalk and Natsuki's hand still latched onto Shizuru's trembling hand. "He's going to be okay," she said trying to comfort the visibly distraught Kyoto beauty.

"I shouldn't have been so careless." Shizuru scolded herself.

"He'll be okay, look we're almost there." Natsuki said as the two of them ran across the street to the entrance to the park.

They made it in record time to the park bench where a frightened Aya was standing next to Nao while Kouta was sitting on the bench. Kouta was having a difficult time breathing, taking a number of short breaths and holding his chest with his right hand, his pale face was drenched in sweat along the hairline.

Natsuki released Shizuru's hand and saw her slide down to meet Kouta at eye level, "It's okay, it's okay," she said as calmly as she could pulling out the inhaler from her purse. "Ready?" Kouta gave a slight nod and she put the blue inhaler in his mouth. "Breathe," she pushed down as he inhaled. "One-two-three, breathe," and repeated the same action with the inhaler. "One more time, one-two-three, breathe." The brown-eyed boy coughed at the last breath, but his breathing started to slow down a bit after a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," Shizuru apologized profusely to her son as the shock had turned to sorrow. She was rubbing his back with one hand and grabbing a small bottle of water out of her purse. "Drink this," she handed the water to Kouta and he immediately took a large sip and wiped away some of the water that missed his mouth.

"Are you okay?" Shizuru asked while her arms were lightly hanging onto his shoulders as if she was hanging for the support.

"Hai, mom, I'm okay." Kouta reassured softly wiping away the tear that escaped his mother's eye.

"You sure?" The Kyoto-ben asked again touching her forehead to the boy's.

"Yup," he said quietly and pulled her into a tight hug.

Shizuru returned his hug and rose from the ground still holding onto him, she kissed the side of his head for reassurance. "Good," she simply said and turned around to face the visibly relieved group in front of her.

"Is he okay?" Aya asked quietly.

"Hai, just a little scare. Not to worry," Shizuru gave a small smile but it quickly turned to a small frown. "Ara, Aya are you okay? It looks like you scraped your knee."

Natsuki's relief was short-lived as she focused on her daughter when Shizuru asked the question with concern. She looked at her little one to see she indeed had a nasty scrape on her knee, her pants torn where the injury was. "Are you okay, what happened?" It was Natsuki's turn to become frantic when she quickly picked up Aya and sat her down on the bench.

"Little bit," the tomboy winced as she answered honestly.

"Looks like it. We'll go home in a minute and get you cleaned up." Natsuki's relief quickly turned to anger as she eyeballed Nao, "What the hell happened?"

"I swear on your lingerie collection that I had my eye on them the whole time. I saw them run around the jungle gym with a couple of other kids. It was only two minutes later that I saw Aya limping. I thought Kouta was out of breath from them running so I ran to Aya, but then a few moments later he was getting worse. I called you as soon as I saw it was worse." Nao explained looking at Natsuki than Shizuru.

"Momma, it wasn't Aunt Nao's fault, it was that butthead Shiho's fault." Aya said worriedly.

"Who is Shiho?" Natsuki asked Aya.

"She's in my class. She's mean." The young Kuga growled.

"Natsuki-sama?" A quiet Kyoto accent asked quietly. Natsuki turned to look at Kouta who was still being held by Shizuru, thankfully his color had returned and he wasn't sweating anymore. "It wasn't Aya's fault too. We were playing and Shiho tripped me and I got hurt and I lost my breath. Aya tried to save me but she was pushed down and she got hurt."

"Aya, you're a hero," Shizuru giggled as she praised Aya.

"But—"

"You two!" An angry voice cut her off before she could say anything else. A visibly angry father walked towards them, carrying a young red head with spiral ponytails randomly set on each side of her head. The child also had a red mark on her cheek that appeared to be bruising.

Natsuki picked up Aya as the man walked brusquely towards them, "What do you want?" Natsuki asked angrily she moved ahead of Shizuru.

"Look what your kid did to mine," the angry father said pointing to his daughter's cheek. He was an over-weight man, around the same height as Natsuki wearing khakis and a yellow polo shirt, his eyes revealed a disturbing coldness to them.

"Look, I just found out what happened. Why don't you chill out," Natsuki scolded impatiently.

"You're telling me to chill out? Your kid hit mine." He shouted.

"Ara ara, I think we need to calm down don't you think?" Shizuru intervened noticing the situation escalating.

"I expect an apology from both of them." He said staring angrily at Aya and Kouta causing the two children to flinch.

"Then we expect the same from your daughter. From our understanding, your daughter may have instigated the incident." Shizuru revealed a polite smile but Natsuki saw a hint of anger in her crimson orbs.

"I agree," Natsuki added.

"Go to hell."

Natsuki was about to say something but Shizuru interjected as her smile faded, "Ara, such language, which I strongly suggest you don't use it again in front of our children. I see where your child gets her manners; she's a bully just like her father. I strongly suggest you walk away from us." Shizuru's tone dropped to imply she was dead serious.

"Or you'll what?" The man asked nervously.

"Trust me, you do not want to find out. Now please leave us alone. I don't want to hear about this happening again from either one of our children. And believe me, this is me being polite, I'm trying to use simple words to meet your intelligence level." Shizuru glared at the fat man in front of her but she still wore a smile.

Nao and Natsuki watched with their jaws half-open at the visibly shaken father turned around and walked away without a rebuttal. A few moments later a bright smile replaced the cobalt-beauty's slack jaw, she didn't think she'd ever been more proud to be associated with anyone in her entire life.

"Holy crap, you are my god," Nao said excitedly breaking the silence.

Shizuru turned around when she heard the _compliment_ and her expression had lightened considerably. "Okini," she chuckled, "are you two alright?" She asked Kouta than looked at Aya who had her head buried in the crook of Natsuki's neck.

"Hai," Kouta answered calmly.

Natsuki felt Aya tense up in her arms and she pulled her away from her a little to see if she was alright, the sight of Aya's tears erased the smile that was on her face. Natsuki sat down on the bench, "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked quietly rubbing her daughter's back.

"I'm sorry Momma," she said putting her head on her mom's chest trying to hide the tears from the crowd around her.

"What do you have to be sorry about?" Natsuki questioned softly in her ear, she realized everyone stepped away a bit to give them some space.

"I said I would be good…and…"

"You didn't do anything wrong okay? You were protecting yourself right?"

Aya nodded and wiped the tears with her sleeve, "she was being mean." She sniffled.

"I believe you. I promise you didn't do anything wrong."

"Hai," Aya said a little embarrassed when she realized she was the center of attention, she bumped her head back onto Natsuki's chest.

Natsuki chuckled and pulled her pride into a tight hug and rose from their seat and she felt Aya's arms come around her to accept the hug. "Let's go home and get you patched up," she whispered in her ear as she felt the tension ease from her little girl.

"Is she going to be okay?" A concerned Shizuru asked.

"Yeah she's tuff. It's been a crazy morning, but I'm going to walk her home," Natsuki responded as she smiled appreciatively.

"I can drive you two home," Shizuru offered, letting Kouta down.

"Yeah, let Shizuru take you two home," Nao said with an oh-so subtle nudge on Natsuki's shoulder.

Natsuki rolled her eyes at her best friend's obnoxious attempts keep the day going between the four of them; she relented though she but still wanted to _kill _Nao.

"If it won't be out of your way, that would be great." Natsuki accepted the offered ride home.

"Nonsense. Besides, the hero needs to be taken care of, " Shizuru laughed quietly.

"Awww," Aya responded as a blush spread across her face as she looked away in awkwardness.

Natsuki grinned at Shizuru then glanced at Kouta; he looked a bit uncomfortable, "Kouta are you okay?"

"Umm…I have to go to the bathroom," he said embarrassingly as he started to shift from left to right.

"Yup, so that's my queue, I'm outta here. You kids have fun! And Shizuru, I'm sorry about what happened earlier, you too Kouta." Nao said giving an apologetic look.

"Okini, but it wasn't your fault," Shizuru said reassuringly.

"Cool. All right Pup, I'm out of here. Bye kiddo," Nao waved to them as she left towards the direction of her car.

"Bye," Aya waved back.

"Let's get out of here, our house is only a couple of minutes away. Kouta can use our restroom."

"Sounds good to us, thank you."

Once the kids were buckled-up they were on their way to the Kuga's home, Natsuki looked to the backseat and saw Kouta doing the "pee-pee" dance while sitting of course. Aya looked a little tired as she sat quietly looking out the window, no doubt thinking about the past hour.

Natsuki turned around and looked out the window and noticed that rain clouds were starting to form, "Looks like rain," she said to no one in particular.

"Ara, it does. I thought they were calling for it, luckily it waited until this afternoon."

"Damn."

"What is it?" Shizuru asked with concern.

"Ah, nothing. Just realizing that this morning was a total disaster," Natsuki sighed.

"Not a total disaster but yes it was trying," Shizuru half-agreed.

"Oh, make a left here and it's the second house on the right," Natsuki said quickly almost forgetting where she lived.

When Shizuru pulled into the driveway, Natsuki saw Duran poking his nose out through the shades, "Is Kouta good around dogs? I forgot to mention we have one, he's friendly."

"He's fine around them, no worries," Shizuru reassured Natsuki as she exited the car.

Natsuki got out of the car and picked up her little hero so that she wouldn't have to walk on her injured leg. When they entered the main level of the house, Duran greeted them all before they could take their shoes off as he paid special attention to the new family that entered his domain.

"Oh Kouta sorry, the bathroom is the second door on the left," Natsuki said feeling sorry for the leg-crossed boy in front of her.

"Arigato," he said as he ran up the stairs.

"Ara, he really needed to go," Shizuru giggled and a small smile formed across her face.

"I guess so," Natsuki gave a nervous smile as she sat Aya down on the couch and returned to the entryway where Shizuru was standing, she was feeling a bit apprehensive. "Look, I know this morning was a total bust, but do you two want to hang out here for a while? You can get Kouta cleaned up in the main bathroom, I know Aya will have something that'll fit him and…" she hesitated and avoided eye-contact as the blush started to emerge. "Ah hell! Just tell me now if I'm acting like a complete idiot."

"Ara, ara, Natsuki is not acting like an idiot. She's too cute to be an idiot," Shizuru tittered as she brought her finger to cover her grin.

"Baka," Natsuki flinched while the blush deepened.

"I'll spare you for right now, but yes that sounds like fun. Let me see if Kouta is up for staying."

"I heard you mom, I'm okay with it," the visibly relieved Kouta responded.

"Great…I mean…never mind, I'll get you a towel and a change of clothes if you need them." Natsuki said shaking her head, still noticeably embarrassed.

"I'm not wearing girls clothes," Kouta grimaced which earned another chuckle from his mother.

"Trust me Kouta, Aya hasn't owned a dress in her life or anything with pink or purple for that matter, you're completely safe," Natsuki assured him.

"H-hai."

"Momma?"

Natsuki walked to Aya who sat by herself in the family room, "I didn't forget you. Ready to get cleaned up?" She asked as she picked her up again.

"Yeah."

"They're going to stay over for a bit, you up for it?"

"Yeah."

Roughly an hour later, the kids were cleaned, patched up and fed. Aya wasn't particularly fond of Natsuki's attempt to clean out her knee; there were plenty of "ouch" and "grrr's" spat out and she almost ran out of her mother's bedroom without her shorts in an attempt to get away from the disinfectant spray, luckily her escape attempt failed as Natsuki grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from the door. Aya tried to dodge her mother for a second time by ducking under the bed when it was time to have her hair brushed, normally she wasn't that difficult but the stinging from the spray had pushed her to the limits.

It was obvious Kouta was still a little uncomfortable with having to wear "girl" clothes even though he was in a red hooded sweatshirt and soccer shorts. Although, he was a little taller than Aya the outfit actually fit him properly compared to them being a little too baggy on the little Kuga's body. It didn't help that Aya laughed at him when she came out of Natsuki's bedroom when she saw he was wearing her clothes. This caused him to fidget and retaliate with teases of his own.

Somehow Natsuki and Shizuru were able to maintain some order of peace when they put on a movie and had Kouta on the loveseat and Aya on the couch, Duran sat on the floor between the two of them. Natsuki hoped that after their _rescue mission_ today they would get along a little better, but she felt a little relieved when she didn't see either of them stick their tongues out, _some progress_ she thought.

Natsuki and Shizuru stepped out of the family room and into the kitchen once the movie started and for the first time that day there was peace. Luckily from the kitchen and breakfast bar, they could keep an eye on their children, just in case.

"Finally," Natsuki sighed.

"I agree," they Kyoto-ben returned as she sat down on one of the stools.

"Would you like something to eat or coffee?" Natsuki asked pulling out the coffee from the cabinet.

"I couldn't eat anything right now. Do you have tea though? Coffee doesn't sit well with me."

"Yeah, I only have green tea though. Is that okay?"

"Perfect, okini."

After Natsuki started the coffee pot and put the kettle on the stove she returned her focus on Shizuru. The raven-haired woman was taken aback when she observed the honey-haired beauty's revere because it wasn't the confident woman she has gotten to know. Her shoulders were slumped a bit and her crimson-eyes were looking down so Natsuki couldn't judge her exact emotion, though she had a feeling it had something to do with Kouta's attack earlier. Natsuki felt another pang in her chest when she observed the beautiful woman in front of her. _I want to make her feel better. How? I suck at this kind of thing._

The cobalt-beauty went with her instincts hoping they wouldn't fail her and placed her hand on top of Shizuru's that was lying on top of the counter of the breakfast bar. Natsuki felt Shizuru startle slightly at the move and motioned her face to meet Natsuki's, their eyes locked and viridian saw that the embrace stunned the crimson orbs.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Natsuki said quietly.

"I was careless. He has been doing so well lately, I should have been prepared," Shizuru said in an almost whisper.

When Natsuki saw Shizuru's rustic eyes soften, she was grateful her instincts were correct. "He has asthma right?"

"Hai. It isn't a severe case and it generally acts up if he becomes a little panicked or if he pushes himself too hard like this morning. I think it scares me more than it does him."

"How long since his last attack?"

"Probably a few months ago. That one required a short visit to the hospital so they could hook him up to a nebulizer for a little while," Shizuru sighed as she rubbed the right side of her temple.

Natsuki rubbed her thumb over the hand she was holding, she didn't want to break the contact when she gently asked, "I know this is none of my business, but is Kouta's father around?" She saw something in Shizuru's eyes that almost made her regret that she asked the question, but it quickly disappeared.

"No. It's just he and I. You?"

Natsuki was slightly relieved for unknown reasons to her. "The same. It's always been the two of us…and Nao when she's hungry." She managed a small smile at the response.

The small joke apparently lightened Shizuru's mood, she formed a small comfortable smile. Natsuki wanted to ask more but she wasn't sure what Shizuru was prepared to answer, the Kyoto beauty appeared to be a private person and the last thing she wanted to do was push her away or hurt the new friendship.

"I have an idea," Natsuki said excitedly as she regretfully let go of Shizuru's hand to turn off the stove, it was apparent the water had been ready for some time.

"What's that?" Shizuru asked with a radiant smile.

Natsuki lost her concentration for a moment when she saw the smile but shook it off as quickly as she could before her face would become a tomato. "Come with me, but first it's a little too quiet in there, we should check on them. I hope they're still alive."

Shizuru followed Natsuki to the family room where they found the two children asleep with the movie still playing. Natsuki grabbed two blankets from the closet and handed one to Shizuru as they each placed the blanket on their kids. Natsuki chuckled quietly when she saw Aya pull the covers up and adjust herself in the fetal position. She walked past Kouta when he rolled over, revealing his severe case of bed head, she grinned at Shizuru at the sight.

"Okay, follow me," Natsuki whispered.

She led Shizuru out the main entrance and into the garage. Natsuki pushed the switch to open the garage door to allow some natural light to enter, which wasn't too much because it had started to drizzle outside. She came back into the garage to reveal to Shizuru what she wanted to show her.

"Ta-da," Natsuki said in an exaggerated excitement as she was wearing a beaming smile.

"Ano?" Shizuru asked obviously confused.

"My collection." She said pointing to the five motorcycles in the garage.

Shizuru couldn't contain the giggles, "Ara, yes you seem to have quite a few motorcycles."

"Next to Aya, they are my pride an joy. This one here is the NAT 815, it's my first prototype," she said pointing to a blue and gray racing bike. "This one is the OTOME 421, I developed that one last year and actually won an award for it. Umm, oh the other two I developed a couple of years ago, I barely ride them."

"Which one is your favorite?"

"Easy, the Ducati, she's my baby," Natsuki purred as she walked to her bike and sat on it.

"Your baby?" A playful grin spread across her face.

"Baka," Natsuki blushed lightly at the tease. "Hai, I love riding it especially at night."

"I believe you."

"But when I can't ride and when the world seems to be too big for me to handle, I come down here. I sometimes sit for a little while or make small repairs if needed. It soothes me and I guess it's my safe haven. It makes me feel better. I guess I just wanted to share it with you." Natsuki's blush deepened at the last admission.

"Ara, Natsuki is too sweet," Shizuru quietly chuckled at the sentiment. "I have never ridden on a motorcycle."

"Really? We'll have to change that one day." Natsuki noticed Shizuru light up at the notion as she released herself from the bike, "Try it out."

"Ano?"

"Sit on it, get a feel for it." Natsuki said as she walked over to Shizuru and grabbed her hand again and pulled her gently to the Ducati.

"I don't know," Shizuru replied hesitantly.

"Give it a shot. Don't tell me the great Fujino Shizuru is afraid of something," Natsuki teased. _That did it,_ she mused to herself.

Shizuru's crimson orbs gazed at Natsuki's emeralds, a sly grin spread across her features, "Ara, is Natsuki challenging me?"

"Well if you're scared I won't push you into anything," she teased.

"I'm assuming you use that reverse-psychology crap on Aya, I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered that I'm thought of in such _high _regard," Shizuru laughed.

"Works every damn time too, stick with what you know. Now quit bitching and give me your hand."

Shizuru rolled her eyes, she made sure Natsuki wouldn't miss the gesture. "Ara, Fujino's do not _bitch_ Natsuki," she said in her polite business voice.

"And they don't say crap either right," Natsuki responded sarcastically returning the roll of the eyes.

Shizuru sighed as she grabbed Natsuki's hand, which sent another jolt of energy and warmth through the biker's body, and applied a little weight for support as she straddled one leg over the bike and rested her bum comfortably on the seat. "Happy now?" she feigned annoyance.

_You have no idea_, the raven-haired biker thought as she stared at the woman in front of her. "If…you're happy than I am," she admitted quietly as she felt her entire body go purple at the honesty, she tried to maintain eye contact but the embarrassment got the best of her and she stared down at the bike's tires.

After a moment of silence, Natsuki glanced at Shizuru briefly then returned her gaze to the bike, she confirmed that Kyoto beauty was just as red as she was. _I'm happy I can offer a little payback but this is ridiculous, baka, baka, baka. Control yourself damnit! Though it does look cute on her! What am I saying, Shizuru say something! _

"Momma?"

_Thank Ducati, _Natsuki thought as she released the breath she didn't realize she was holding. She also heard a faint sigh coming from blushing chestnut-haired beauty.

"We'll be right up." She called up to Aya who was standing in the doorway.

"Hai!" Aya responded excitedly.

Natsuki's attention returned to Shizuru as she gave her another hand so she could dismount the bike, which she did without a hitch. "So…what did you think?"

"Ara, it makes for an interesting chair," Shizuru giggled.

Natsuki rolled her eyes as she closed the garage door, "Yeah yeah, you know you liked it. Let's get up there before all hell breaks loose now that they're awake, I also owe you a cup of tea."

"Hai." Shizuru responded wryly walking into the house.

* * *

Into the late afternoon Shizuru and Natsuki conversed amongst themselves while the kids played video games. They kept the topics light as they spoke mainly about work, friends and sticky situations they encountered involving their children. Natsuki found the crimson-eyed beauty's presence welcoming and the little information she divulged was fascinating to the emerald-eyed beauty. Shizuru was a collector of ancient weapons, had a taste for all varieties of tea's, and in high school she took flower arranging though Natsuki realized she never elaborated on her interests. 

Certain subjects she realized were off limits for the time being by subtle reactions Shizuru would display such as avoiding eye contact or laughing something off with a well-trained smile. The Kyoto-ben was difficult to read, but the times that Natsuki was able to make eye contact she would see where the emotions lie. This discovery only spiked Natsuki's curiosity, however, she decided that she would remain patient, which was difficult for her truthfully. She would appreciate whatever Shizuru would share with her she decided.

That evening, Shizuru insisted on ordering dinner for everyone. It was a take-out restaurant that she and Kouta frequented often because they specialized in soy and vegetarian dishes. Neither one of them is a vegetarian but they ate healthier for Kouta out of precaution than necessity. Needless to say it was an experience for the Kuga's whom were self-proclaimed _fast food junkies_. Aya was apprehensive about eating her tofu stir-fry meal but once her and Natsuki's meal was topped off with a glob of mayonnaise, much to the Fujino's nauseating reactions, they both found the meal quite delicious and insisted on eating it again.

After dinner, Natsuki discovered a hidden competitive streak in the Kyoto beauty through the means of the video game _Dead or Alive 4_. Aya and Kouta got into _another_ argument over who was cheating and who wasn't. Natsuki decided it was time for them to take a break so she taught the _delicate _crimson-eyed beauty how to play. The biker was stunned at how quickly Shizuru caught on, though the beginning she was a _button meshing _queen and she discovered Shizuru could be quite scary when she was really focused.

After a while when Shizuru mastered counter attacks and certain moves, Natsuki had other choice descriptions for the woman next to her that she couldn't vocalize with the children around. For two hours, the great battle between the _Kuga's and Fujino's _occurred. They were all really into it, each of them cheering on their mom's or kid's. Alas the Kuga's won the overall war by only a couple of matches.

It was well after Aya and Kouta's bedtime when they regretfully ended their day together. Natsuki didn't remember the last time she had this much enjoyment in a single day. She gave herself a mental note to thank Nao for encouraging them to continue the day after a disastrous morning. _Well maybe she would thank her,_ she thought to herself.

"I guess today wasn't a total disaster after all," Natsuki said as she walked Shizuru and a clearly exhausted Kouta out to their car.

"No not at all, we really had fun today," Shizuru agreed as she buckled Kouta in the backseat, he had his eyes closed within seconds of sitting down. "I'll make sure I return Aya's clothes soon."

"Don't worry about it, she has plenty of sweatshirts, I don't think she'll miss this one." Natsuki smiled.

"Maybe I could stop by your office this week and drop them off. We could go out to lunch or something."

"Yeah, that would be great. Give me a call when you want to set something up," Natsuki agreed trying to contain her excitement at the prospect of seeing Shizuru again. She opened the driver's side door to let Shizuru into the car.

"Hai, I'll do that," Shizuru responded with a bright smile while she slowly entered the car.

"Good night Shizuru," Natsuki said quietly.

"Good night Natsuki."

"Oh yeah, Shizuru?" Natsuki asked with a hint of concern as she walked around the open car door.

"Yes?"

Natsuki didn't say anything as she simply bent down and lightly kissed Shizuru on the cheek and felt the warmth spread across the beautiful woman's face. Natsuki smiled softly and walked away when she saw what she hoped would see. She was too content to think about it, she let herself feel…and it felt fucking awesome.

* * *

Okay, so I hope you guys enjoyed the update, I understand the end was a bit rushed. As for the kiss, I totally had to have Natsuki return the favor :). Umm, oh yeah, I swear I'm going to progress the time frame, it's 5 chapters for 1 week. This story isn't going to go anywhere if I keep this up, and I know I said that last chapter. I also hope that this settled some of you Shizuru nuts out there, though I realize I didn't divulge too much info...more will be revealed though (evil grin). 


	6. Victory Comes in Small Doses

For some reason I couldn't get this story out of my mind after four years of writers block and the added stresses of day to day life. I got into an anime kick a month ago and somehow I was drawn to this story again. A few warnings below:

1. I no longer have a beta since it's been many years that I have tried any sort of creative writing outside of a company email. I'm a comma whore and I know there are a couple of mistakes so please PM me if it's something obvious.

2. I have been out of the ShizNat fandom for many years other reading some of my old favorites, I haven't read a new story in a long time so there is absolutely no intention of infringing on another writer's story or idea.

3. I do not mind critiques and reviews but I mind flamers, so please be respectful.

**I do not own or license Mai HiME or Mai Otome-all right's belong to Sunrise.**

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Natsuki continued to toss and turn in her bed unable to get into a comfortable sleeping position. Her thoughts had been on over-drive with an unexplainable fear and anxiety. She knew it wasn't work related because she rarely lost sleep over her career unless she was a few days away from a large deal such as the Fujino deal over a week ago. Aya was doing very well and it made Natsuki smile with pride as she recently found out her daughter was more than ready for kindergarten next term.

Although she didn't want to admit it to herself, the anxiety was probably because she hadn't heard from Shizuru since that day they spent together with Aya and Kouta. The first couple of days were fine but the fear started to creep up that day and it was nearly Thursday and the Kyoto beauty had yet to call her. She was worried that her intuition had been incorrect, maybe she shouldn't have kissed Shizuru on the cheek and quite possibly she read the wrong signs. She was worried that the Shizuru was avoiding her, then again, she still wasn't sure what exactly she was looking for or how to define their relationship. It was definitely forming into a friendship but how deep it would become was an unknown to the cobalt-haired beauty. Shizuru was still a mystery to her and seldom allowed her guard down to expose her true emotions, which could only be read if Natsuki was able to peer into her crimson orbs or if she exposed a heart melting radiant smile that the biker had grown to appreciate. She promised herself she would be patient with Shizuru, it had only been a couple of weeks and there wasn't any reason to rush their friendship.

"This is crap, since when have I ever lost sleep over someone else?" Natsuki grumbled to herself as she stuffed a pillow into her face.

She rolled over and could see the bright red numbers reveal the time which was 12:02, _make that four days without hearing from her_, she thought to herself. _It's only lunch after all, it's not like I need the sweatshirt back._

Just as she rolled over again she heard her cell phone ring, "What the hell?" She said out loud as she turned on the lamp next to her bed. The caller identification read 'Shizuru', and Natsuki couldn't help but feel a pang of concern enter her body.

"…Hello…Shizuru?" Natsuki answered the cell phone.

"_Natsuki,"_ The quiet Kyoto-ben said timidly.

"Hi, is everything okay?" Natsuki asked trying to cover the frantic feelings she was holding in as she propped herself up on a couple of pillows.

"_Yes__, I'm so sorry to call so late. I'm still adjusting to the time difference." _

"Time difference? Where are you?" The biker asked trying to maintain her nervousness.

"_London."_

"London? What are you doing there? Work?"

"_Part of the reason I'm here is due to work." _Shizuru responded quietly.

"Shizuru…what's wrong?" Natsuki asked once again, she could tell from Shizuru's tone that something happened.

"_Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm just a little tired; it's been an interesting couple of days." _

"Uh huh, okay. But you're still not telling me why you're in London," Natsuki said calmly because she couldn't ignore the exhaustion in the Kyoto-ben voice.

Shizuru finally relented and it was a clear sign to Natsuki just how tired she was. _"I'm here for my aunt's funeral, primarily. I decided to take care of some business while I was here."_

"I'm sorry to hear that," Natsuki apologized softly. She wanted to say something else but she couldn't form the proper words.

"_Thank you, but its okay. My aunt passed way, she was my mother's sister and she lived overseas most of my life because of my uncle's company. I had to be the Fujino representative for my father and mother," _Shizuru's resolve returned.

"Was your mother with you?" Natsuki hesitantly and silently scolded herself when she realized she didn't know anything about Shizuru's family aside from Kouta, she didn't want to cross the line at a time like this.

"_No, she was unable to make the trip." _Shizuru responded a quietly.

"Baka, I'm sorry. I'm not very much help am I?" The biker apologized again rubbing the tension between her eyes.

"_It's okay, you're doing a great job and I can't blame you it's probably after midnight at home," _she lightly giggled. _"My mother was unable to travel the long flight. Nothing to be concerned about," _Shizuru continued nonchalantly.

"H-hai, you sure everything is okay?" Natsuki said realizing Shizuru did another cover up.

_"Yes, everything is okay. I haven't had the chance to call you and again I'm sorry for the time."_

"You don't need to apologize again, I'm just glad to hear you're okay. When I didn't hear from you…" Natsuki fidgeted as a faint blush started to spread across her cheeks.

"_Ara, I didn't forget Natsuki. I owe you lunch." _ Shizuru chuckled lightly.

"Baka, that's not what I meant," the blushing cobalt-haired beauty feigned annoyance; inwardly she was grateful she heard a genuine giggle from the other woman.

"_Trust me, I wish I were home instead of here. I miss Kouta too, but the advantage is I can try to work out the problems I'm having with an associate here in London."_

"Where's Kouta staying? Does he have a nanny or baby-sitter?"

"_She works part-time, I try to keep his life as normal as possible. He's staying with Reito and his wife and I didn't know how long I would be out of town and I didn't want to keep him away from school for too long. Haruka and Yukino flew out here yesterday to assist me that way Reito can be available in Tokyo if any problems should arise."_

"Haruka's with you? God save the Queen." Natsuki joked with a light chuckle.

Shizuru lightly laughed at the joke and responded light-heartedly, "_I'm sure she's hiding already."_

"I bet. It's not like you can mistaken Haruka's voice, I would go undercover as well. MI-6 is probably tailing her already."

"_Why do you think I asked Yukino to come along?"_

"Smart woman, glad you were thinking ahead," Natsuki responded.

"_Okini, I'm sorry though, I do have to go, and I have to have to cut this so short," _Shizuru said abruptly then stalled._ "I just wanted to…I just wanted to hear your voice."_ Shizuru said almost in a whisper.

Natsuki was taken aback by the honesty but the warmth she felt when in Shizuru's presence had returned, "I'm happy to hear your voice as well Shizuru." _More than you realize, _she thought to herself.

"_Well, goodnight Natsuki. I'll call you soon."_

_"Okay_, goodnight. If you need anything, let me know."

"_I will thank you. Bye."_

"Bye," Natsuki said shutting off her cell phone. She was sorry for the Shizuru's loss and couldn't help but be concerned for her friend, at the same time, she'd felt better than she had all week after having the short conversation with her. At least she could sleep peacefully knowing she was fine even if she wasn't convinced Shizuru was completely okay.

* * *

The following two weeks progressed with the same events every evening with Shizuru calling Natsuki before the biker slept. Their conversations remained light by spending a few minutes catching up on their days or discussing books, sports or entertaining one another with more humorous stories and encounters involving the children. They sometimes discussed work but the topic generally ended quickly; the few minutes they had for one another didn't want to be ruined by the stresses of their careers. Needless to say, Natsuki looked forward to her _good night _phone call. She was getting accustomed to hearing Shizuru's warm voice before she slept and on the couple of occasions that Shizuru was unable to contact her, would result in a fitful nights rest for her. Natsuki had the inclination that the effect might be mutual for the honey-haired beauty.

One evening Natsuki sensed from Shizuru that Reito needed a day off from babysitting duty to spend time with his extremely busy wife and Natsuki offered to take Kouta for the day. Her company offered free tickets to an exhibition baseball game that she had planned on taking Aya to for a couple of months. It was a somewhat early birthday present for her daughter; her favorite baseball player and idol Ichiro Suzuki would be in town with the _Seattle Mariners_ for an exhibition game against the _Tokyo Yomiuri Giants_. Natsuki had hoped Shizuru would be home in time from her business trip so that she could accompany them, but she was still wrapping up issues they were having with their London base of operations.

Natsuki pulled up to Reito's apartment complex seeing Reito standing a few feet from the entrance with Kouta. Reito quickly buckled Kouta in the backseat next to the young Kuga who was dressed for the occasion in her Ichiro jersey and Mariners cap.

"Thank you for taking Kouta for the day, you really didn't have to," Reito said politely standing next to Natsuki's open car window.

"No problem. I had tickets and I figured it would be fun for them," Natsuki nonchalantly. "Besides, you probably needed a break yourself."

"Shizuru didn't say anything did she?" Reito quirked.

"Not directly. You know how she is," Natsuki answered shrugging her shoulders glancing at Reito.

"Hai, I do. I think you're learning rather quickly as well," Reito replied with a mysterious smile.

"…What? Learning what?" Natsuki asked completely confused.

"Never mind," Reito answered with a chuckle.

"Please don't never mind me, I get enough half-assed answers from Shizuru. I can only handle one of you." Natsuki blurted out mildly before her brain could catch up to her mouth. She leaned her head into the steering wheel covering up the faint blush that was beginning to form.

"Does that bother you?" Reito asked quietly. If Natsuki wasn't so humiliated she would have noticed a small grin form across his features.

Natsuki battled inwardly whether to be honest with the man standing beside her, it was difficult enough being honest with herself let alone admitting the truth to someone she barely knew. However, she knew Shizuru trusted Reito and she didn't have to say it out loud. It was obvious because Shizuru entrusted Reito with Kouta and Natsuki knew that she would never let someone take care of her son that she didn't trust. Reito also followed Natsuki out of the conference room a few weeks ago to clear the air between the two of them. She instinctively knew that Reito only had the best intentions when it came to Shizuru; she was silently grateful he looked after her.

Natsuki turned her head, still debating whether to be honest with him until she met face to face with his kind brown eyes. She knew she couldn't lie and have him believe it. She sighed, "Yes, it bothers me," she answered shaking her head slightly.

"Good. Don't let her get away with it too much longer." Reito said immediately as if he was expecting the answer he received. The small grin formed into an all-knowing smile.

"What? What do you mean?" Natsuki asked exasperated as if he knew something she didn't.

"Kuga-san, I really don't believe you're that dense. Then again, maybe when it comes to Shizuru you really are," Reito joked.

"Argh, so now I'm dense? Aren't you full of insight today," Natsuki retorted rolling her eyes.

Reito could barely contain his laughter as pedestrians walked by them they were starting at the two of them. "I believe I said I _didn't_ think you were dense and I was joking about Shizuru. I think you know her better than you let on."

"Gee, thanks."

Reito eased his laughter and locked his eyes with the agitated viridian orbs. "Just be patient and keep on doing what you're doing. You may need to push a bit but you'll know when to do it. I have a good feeling about you."

"I'll try my best."

"I know you will Kuga-san. I'm happy that you care about her," Reito said softly.

"She's a good friend. I—"

"Momma, are we going?" Aya's asked, her patience had worn off.

"Un, un, we're going," Natsuki said as she turned her body to look at the kids.

"I will let you go, thanks again for taking Kouta out."

"No problem, I'll call you if we run late."

"Hai. See you this evening," Reito said waving goodbye.

They took the train since it dropped them two blocks from their destination and the three of them arrived at the large stadium roughly an hour before game time. Natsuki walked with the kids hanging onto her hands, towards their seating section, passing merchandise vendors and food vendors. In honor of the American baseball team's visit, The Tokyo Dome served hotdogs and beer as well as their traditional yakitori, ramen and whiskey. When the three of them walked passed one of the vendors selling everything from colorful banners to Giant jerseys, Natsuki noticed Kouta glancing curiously at the navy blue Ichiro jersey.

"Kouta, do you like Ichiro Suzuki just as much as Aya?" Natsuki asked standing in front of the vendor.

The young boy nodded apprehensively. "Hai," he managed to say.

Natuski bent down so she could be eye level with the boy, "Kouta, you don't have to be nervous around me. If you want something, just ask for it and don't be afraid." She turned to look at Aya and gave her a sly grin, "You think she's afraid to ask?" She laughed at Aya sticking her tongue out.

"Hai," he responded standing up a little taller.

Natsuki got up and purchased the jersey and hat as well as a novelty for Aya so she wouldn't feel left out. When Kouta put the jersey over top his t-shirt, it was a size too big even though she figured Shizuru could afford enough jersey's to fill the stadium, growing into it couldn't hurt either.

The three of them holding hands, made their way to the assigned seats shuffling through the increasing traffic of fans. Since Natsuki had four tickets, she was able to put a space between a fan and Kouta. The two teams were on the field for warm ups and the grounds crew were smoothing out the infield trying not to get in the way of the opposing teams.

Their seats weren't even warm by the time she heard Aya shouting, "Momma! Momma, look!" pointing and excitedly waiving to center field where her favorite baseball player was also waiving to the crowd. Natsuki helped Aya and Kouta stand up on their seats so they could get a better view, she made sure that she held their sides just in case one of them would lose their balance.

She grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and asked the kids to turn around so she could take a picture of them with the field in the background.

"Now make a funny face."

Aya crossed her eyes and Kouta stuck his tongue out. After she snapped the picture, she sent it to Shizuru with the comment "_Wish you were here"_. It was a little bold to say but it was the truth, at least that's what she thought to herself.

The game was fun and exciting and every time Ichiro made a play on the field or was up to bat the crowd jumped to their feet in adoration. The kids made sure he could hear them and a few times Natsuki had to wince at how loud they were being, at least they were having a good time. She checked her phone several times for a response message from the honey-haired beauty but she never received one. She started to feel a little apprehensive that the comment may have been too much, but she tried to convince herself that she might have been in meetings.

When the game was over, the kids were stuffed with junk food and soda but appeared exhausted; they made it in one piece to the jam packed train. She missed a phone call from Reito, when they arrived at the car she called back; he was just checking to see if everyone was okay. Natsuki offered to keep Kouta overnight and told him he could sleep in Aya's room for the night. Reito didn't want to impose but the biker wouldn't let him say no since the two were getting along and said to enjoy the night with his wife and made arrangements to drop him off in the midmorning.

The three of them arrived at the house, with the sight very excited Labrador's nose poking through the window coverings, "I think he's happy to see us," Natsuki said as she turned off her vehicle.

"Yup! Can I let him outside when we get in?" Aya asked.

"Sure, you can play in the backyard if you two want too. Kouta, you're going to stay overnight if you wouldn't mind. I spoke to Reito already about it, but it's up to you."

"Where will I sleep?"

"In Aya's bed and she will sleep on the other side of my bed."

"Like a sleepover?"

"That's the idea. You two can play tonight and I'll drop you off at his place tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good to me, arigato"

"Woohoo! I can kick your butt in the new racing game Momma got us," Aya said excitedly while she ran up the stairs after kicking off her shoes.

"Will I have to wear girl clothes again?" He looked up at Natsuki nervously.

"Unfortunately yes, I do not have a set of clothes for you, but I promise I'll look for something very manly," Natsuki stated back, but she quirked her eyebrow which caused him to laugh.

"Ooookkayyy," Kouta sighed exaggerating.

The evening went by smoothly and quietly considering the three hour competition the younger ones were in playing the video game. The blue haired beauty even took a break from work to play with them...she lost purposely a couple of times when she felt the frustration come to a simmer with her extremely competitive daughter was about to come to a boil. Natsuki also snuck many glances at her phone hoping to get a text or a call from Shizuru, but it never came. She did hear her phone ping and ran to it around 10 PM, but it was Nao asking her to meet her for a drink for happy hour one day next week. Natsuki agreed, but felt the disappointment it wasn't from Shizuru and she didn't want to admit it to herself, but she missed seeing her.

She woke up the next morning earlier than usual for a Sunday with a crimp in her back since her daughter decided that half of a queen size bed wasn't enough room, and wiggled enough that she had slept on over three quarters of the bed. Natsuki stepped out of her bedroom quietly so she wouldn't wake up Aya and closed the door softly. She checked on Kouta in the other bedroom, she was amazed at how neatly he laid in bed, well compared to Aya. The covers were still over him and he lay on his side of the bed, the only indication he was alive was his mouth wide open and he moved his hand to his nose to scratch an itch.

Clad in her pajama pants, t-shirt and slippers, she slowly walked/stumbled to make a pot of coffee and let the dog out for his morning bathroom break. She wished she had slept better and couldn't put the blame all on Aya; she was restless and worried about not hearing from Shizuru. _I hope she's okay, I wonder what's going on? _Was just the sample of the questions and concerns going through her mind. Then she would convince herself it was meetings, or a dinner date with some corporate monkeys. But of course it's not a _date_, just a dinner between associates or potential clients.._.it's not a date, there was no date...why do I care? And I'm ready to kick my brains ass in two seconds._

She shook off the thoughts and walked to the front door to grab the newspaper and turned back to let the dog in. Natsuki poured herself a cup of coffee when she heard a light knock on the door, and she looked at the clock that read 9:15. Her initial thought was Nao, maybe tripping over herself after a long night of drinking and God knows what else, but Nao would just come in as she pleases as she's done so in the past.

She opened the front door to her complete surprise it was the honey haired beauty she spent so much time worrying about. "Shizuru! What are you doing here?"

"Good morning Natsuki," she said with a smile. "I flew in late last night and received a text from Reito that Kouta was staying the night at your house, I'm sorry to come over so early."

"Oh, well yes he stayed over; I hope that was okay with you...oh and come in, sorry again." Natsuki said tongue tied, the surprise easily showing on her face. She looked fantastic and awake in her jeans and cardigan, which is surprising considering it's over an eighteen hour flight from England to Tokyo airport.

"Okini."

As Shizuru walked towards the kitchen, Natsuki did a face palm for her ridiculousness. "Would you like some tea? I was about to drink a cup of coffee and the kids are still asleep," she asked gathering her wits.

"That would be great; the green tea will be fine."

"Well, I have a few others now; I know you mentioned you liked orange and an herbal blend which I can't remember the name of. I actually had to ask for some help finding it when I went to the market." Natsuki said with her back turned to Shizuru, she didn't want to see the blush forming from her belly button to her ears.

"You did that?" Shizuru asked, unexpectedly hearing that Natsuki had done something so kind.

"Sure, it wasn't a big deal," the nervous biker responded as calmly as she could reaching for a cup in the cabinet.

Moments later she felt a light pounce on her back and the smells of baby powder and honey seeping through her nostrils. She was getting light headed with the wonderful smell and the warmth and electricity cascading down her body..._this is too much_.

"Shi-Shizuru, what are you doing?" She asked, still not looking at the woman that was driving her body and senses absolutely mad.

"Okini Natsuki, for everything," the woman said quietly into Natsuki's back. "It was very sweet of you."

"It-it's no problem...what are friends for?" She managed to get out quickly before she had to take another silent and long, deep breath. She managed to brace herself on the counter just in case her legs gave out from the sensations.

Shizuru unglued herself from the biker and with a look Natsuki hadn't seen before, just simply stated, "Uh huh."

"How did everything go? I imagine a funeral than dealing with business all in one trip can be a bit daunting," Natsuki asked while filling the kettle with water.

Shizuru sat on one of the bar stools at the breakfast bar, "It wasn't as daunting as you would imagine. Unfortunately, we were preparing for my aunt's passing since she had a long battle with cancer and the family was informed about six months ago she didn't have very long. She fought every day and tried her best to not let the prognosis slow her down but I felt terrible for my mother and uncle. They both loved her very much and I wish my mother was able to say goodbye, but that's why they sent me."

"Your father couldn't go?" Natsuki asked timidly, she was broaching on uncharted territory of the woman sitting in front of her talking about her family life.

"No, he stayed home to deal with concerns here in Tokyo and Kyoto and to comfort my mother."

"Your mother?"

With a moment of pause Shizuru answered, "She is unable to make the long distance travel, she hasn't been well herself." Natsuki noticed she avoided eye contact.

It was the truth, but the half truth Natsuki sensed and she wouldn't push it further. Her conversation with Reito replayed in her mind and she acknowledged the simple fact he's known her a lot longer, she decided that when Shizuru was ready to tell her about her past and the family life that shaped her, she would be ready to listen with open ears and without the pressure of being forced to talk. It was obvious that she wasn't ready to open up about it and that she held it tightly around her heart, everyone has skeletons, Natsuki knew that better than anyone.

"So, did you clear up the business end?" She asked pouting the hot water into a mug and understanding it was time to change the subject.

Shizuru answered more confidently and more comfortably now that the conversation was back to work. "Almost, we are having problems with the president of our European division. This leads me to a question that I need to ask you because I do not want to overstep you and your career. I would like, if they have time, to contract out Chie and Aoi to do a bit of investigative work. I promise it will not impede on their daily work with you and Honda, especially with your new contract and projects, but they surprisingly found out some information that was off the grid about my company. It didn't have anything to do with the project which worried me for a moment, some of the information was very classified...and we warned them during the celebratory drink you didn't attend after the demonstration that we'll know where certain information lead too if something is spilled to the public." Shizuru said with a mysterious grin on her face.

"With your permission can we please hire them to look into him? I will make sure we take care of the legalities but they are good. Yukino is excellent at this as well, forgive me for saying this, but might be a little too honest for what I need." She said with a small laugh.

"Go for it, as long as they are fine with it which I don't think they would mind the extra money or the pleasure of spreading their wings outside of investigating for our company. Scratch that, I'm pretty sure they already do contract work, I just don't want to know about it." Natsuki replied laughing as well at the ridiculousness of the two of them.

"Okini, I appreciate this and after everything you have already done for me, I feel awful for asking for another favor."

"First of all, I haven't done anything for you that are worth thanking me for and secondly, you're asking the two of them to help you out, there's hardly any work for me to do other than to say yes to your request. It's not like I could say no to you anyways."

That last very true statement reignited her blush but now it was an intense purple and she quickly turned around to avoid more embarrassment. _Baka, baka, baka! _

When she felt it wear off, she turned around again and saw the emergence of a blush that the crimson eyed beauty had after what she said, and it looked cute on her. They both tried to compose themselves and Shizuru was the first one to speak after the awkward moment.

"Well, since you can't say no this leads me to my next question. How would you and Aya like to join Kouta and me for an afternoon at the Tsukiji Market at the next prefecture? I haven't been there in a while and it's beautiful out already. I like to take him there every once in a while to pick out some fish and produce and there are a lot of stands that would interest the children."

"That sounds like fun. Are you sure you want us to come? I thought you would like to spend some time with Kouta since you've been away for a couple of weeks."

"We'll still have time together, I do not plan on traveling for a little while and I want to cook for all of us with what I purchase. My objective is to train the Kuga's that eating something green will not cause gag reflexes." She responded with a bright smile and infectious giggle.

"Oh so you have a plan? Well, as long as there's mayo, the Kuga's can eat anything. We're up to the challenge," she replied back with a playful version of the_ Kuga Death Glare_.

"Natsuki, do you really think I would let you spoil a good and healthy meal with that crap?"

"You didn't incorporate that rule into the initial challenge which means we can," she said with a sly smile.

"I give up for now, you can have that horrible condiment to your meal but I will wean you off eventually."

After they settled the plans for the day, the first child walked into the kitchen and it was Kouta, his hair was in serious need of a comb. He looked like he was wiping the sleepys from his eyes, when he heard the one voice he was shocked to hear.

"Hello son."

"Mom!" He ran over to give a big hug, "What are you doing here?"

"Reito told me you were having a sleepover and decided to pick you up. I missed you." She gave another squeeze.

"I missed you too. How was Obasan's funeral?"

"Sad, but she went peacefully. I made sure Ojisan saw your most recent picture, he says you're quite handsome."

"Awww, mom. Umm, did you bring some clothes?" He asked tugging at the t-shirt he was wearing.

"They're in the car; I have a small bag packed and your inhaler as well."

"I have one too, Reito gave it to me before we left for the baseball game, I'll make sure you get it back. We were lucky, he didn't need it."

"You can keep it here if you do not mind?" Shizuru responded.

"Sure, I'll keep it in this drawer just in case." When her back was turned she had a huge smile on her face, thankful that there would be other visits.

The spawn of Natsuki came down to the kitchen as well, with barely a nod hello she asked if there was breakfast because she was hungry. Natsuki knew she wasn't a morning person but she was annoyed with her daughters' rudeness, luckily mayo and toast usually cured the morning demon out of her. She made a bowl of cereal for Kouta and they discussed the plans with the kids and they looked pretty excited to go out another day.

Everyone that was in their pajamas got dressed and they left for the thirty minute train ride for the market. It appeared that everyone had the same idea of taking advantage of the beautiful spring day, the train was packed and Natsuki gripped Aya and Kouta's shoulders so they wouldn't wander off. When they walked the two blocks to the market, they could see the heard of people at many of the stations with their hands up for some of the auctions and the attempt to communicate to the vendors with their orders.

As they walked through the narrow pathways created by the tents and vendor sites, Aya spotted a tent with plush toys and other cheap toys. There was a blue wolf with the tongue stitched out of his mouth, Natsuki knew she would hold it for a day and toss it with the other collection of stuffed wolves she had in her room. She relented and purchased it anyways, hopefully it would prevent her from having to buy something more expensive.

Shizuru stopped by a produce vendor, Natsuki wasn't paying attention and kept a couple of paces ahead when she felt a tug at her upper arm. It was the Shizuru's hand stopping her from going any further and Natsuki felt the electricity yet again, she was trying to get used to it. When she took a couple of steps back to the station, she noticed Shizuru didn't let go of her arm and oddly she felt content and warm. When she let go to fill a bag with a couple of green vegetables and some various fruit, she observed how gracious the woman next to her was. She paid a lot more than what it was worth and told the older lady to keep the change.

Observing Shizuru was always educational and she never ceased to amaze the biker, there was warmth to her and for some reason it was expressed more easily to strangers than those trying to get to know her. She felt the slight pressure on her arm once again when she broke out of her trance; Shizuru's hand was holding her arm with the bag of produce in the other. Who was she to object?

"You have everything you need from here?" She asked; the butterflies in her stomach were flying around a million miles a minute.

"Hai, I told you I would feed you something green tonight," she responded teasingly.

"Ugh!" was Natsuki's only comeback which caused some laughter from Shizuru.

The four of them walked from tent to tent, vendor to vendor at a casual pace. Shizuru never let go of Natsuki's arm as they walked and Natsuki was looking around inconspicuously waiting for questionable eyes from the crowds, but she never received any. Not that it mattered, her arm never felt as good as it did and after a few shocking initial moments, she just didn't give a damn. She liked the beautiful woman walking beside her and was enjoying the day with everyone.

Shizuru purchased some fish and some herbs from different places and Natsuki paid for a ramen lunch that was in the center of the market. Aya had convinced her to buy a few more things but she was grateful that the morning demon was long gone, and she was polite and even talked to Shizuru a couple of times but she spent most of it by talking to Kouta. She wanted to jump for joy that the two of them managed to find common ground and possibly like each other, which was way more than she wouldn't have asked for a month ago.

They walked back to the train and it was just as crowded on the way home as it was in the morning. Natsuki took one of the bags with her free hand and gripped Aya's shirt with the other so she wouldn't get lost or something worse. When they made it back to the car, the kids buckled themselves in and were asleep as soon as the car was started, without a doubt the day had exhausted them.

"They're beat," Natsuki stated as she looked at the rear-view mirror.

"Hai, we did walk a lot. I had fun and I think they did too."

"I had a great time, thanks for thinking of it. I probably would have worked or ran a couple of errands that could have waited until the week to pass the time."

"I'm happy you accepted. I think we work so much that sometimes it's hard to fit time in for a little fun."

"I agree. I'm grateful that I'm not stuck inside a cubicle which given my age and background, I should. I was lucky though and I'm able to provide for us and live comfortably, not as comfortably as you though." Natsuki teased.

"Probably not. I do admit I have been spoiled but I know that it can be taken away just as quickly as I was born into it."

"What do you mean?" Natsuki was curious; there was something behind that statement.

"Ara, have you seen the world market lately?" She responded light heartedly.

The response caught her off guard, that's not what she was hoping to hear. The woman was stubborn as hell to let her mask down and she did a mental grunt of frustration. "Shizuru," Natsuki grumbled.

They arrived at the house and the kids were still fast asleep. Natsuki unbuckled Aya and picked her up out of the vehicle and got a semi conscious hug when she was secure in her arms. Shizuru lightly shook Kouta awake with her free hand and he let himself out of the car. When they walked into the front door they took off their shoes and noticed Natsuki was pushing the dog outside to give him time to calm down from the excitement of more company in his home.

"I really need to purchase a few more sets of house slippers, I'm sorry, up until recently we really didn't have people come over other than Nao." Natsuki said apologetically to the two Fujino's.

"There is no need to be concerned Natsuki."

"Still…the next time you visit I'll make sure to have them," she responded with her back turned to them trying to hide a hint of blush in embarrassment.

"Natsuki? A distinct tease was in the Kyoto-ben.

The blushing biker turned around to face her, and the hint of blush still remained, "Yes?"

"Ara, Natsuki is cute when she blushes. I just wanted to see another one," with a giggle.

"Oi, Shizuru!" She was now a five shades deeper.

Shizuru laughed walking in the direction of the kitchen, placing the bags on the counter. "I couldn't resist," she winked and allowed herself to see the sixth shade of red; she heard the girls muffled grumble.

After a few moments to allow her color to return, Natsuki walked into the kitchen with her tormentor, "Would you like something to drink? Tea or water?"

"Okini, tea would be really nice. Do you have a wok or skillet? I know I've stepped into the house of microwave meals," she teased as she removed the purchased ingredients out of the bags.

"Look here smart-ass, I do cook from time to time."

"Boiling water for ramen doesn't count," Shizuru joked within seconds, sticking her tongue out.

Natsuki rolled her eyes but she secretly loved the lighter side of the woman standing next to her and loved seeing her mask fade. "I'll have you know that I have cooked a meal that did not include instant ramen but…I don't remember when it was, but it's happened!"

"Ok, so when was the last time you actually used the oven? For something other than heating pre-made dumplings or that awful American style breaded chicken bits?"

"Oi! When you have a daughter that is as picky as mine, than you can judge! Besides, they're not that terrible, I try to pick out the ones that specify only white meat," This time she stuck her tongue out.

"Like mother, like daughter," Shizuru replied, this time mocking the eye roll. "You still didn't answer my initial question."

"Hai, I have one. You have to move though since it is in the cabinet next to you."

Shizuru moved a couple of steps over so Natsuki could bend down to find the cookware and after she stood up with it in her hands, she felt the little hairs on her neck stand straight up. When her brain caught up to the tingles, she felt the closeness of the other body that pulled her into a hug from behind and her calm breaths on her neck. She inhaled her scent and her knees went weak just as they did earlier in the day; Shizuru holding her in place and her attempts to keep her resolve was the only thing keeping her from melting into a puddle of goo. There was a hitch in her voice, "Wh-what's this for?"

She didn't receive a response from the woman attached to her back and before she could form an even more intense blush, she suddenly grabbed Shizuru's legs so that she was holding her piggy backed. She could feel the Kyoto woman startle a little bit, but revenge was Natsuki's. "Oh no you don't, you need payback for your teasing."

"Ano?"

The biker suddenly picked up her pace with the woman still stuck to her and paced as fast as she could to the empty dining room and shook the woman off of her back and took a few steps back in a playful yet menacing stance. "You're going to find out what it feels like," she warned.

"Is that so?" Shizuru said, obviously not convinced Natsuki could match her teasing powers.

Before the brunette knew what was coming, Natsuki grabbed her shoulders and used her right leg to trip her to the ground. She even fell to the ground gracefully. The two had an audience now with the kids looking on at the match between their mothers. Natsuki grinned slyly and decided to do what any grown woman in her position would, she bent down and tickled the living hell out of the usually reserved woman.

What she heard was nothing short of melodic, Shizuru laughing uncontrollably with a number of "no and stop's" but it didn't deter her. She heard the kids cheering her on and so she in turn continued tickling the woman on the ground. Before the cobalt beauty realized, Shizuru wiggled out fast enough to get away and when she looked up, she saw the gorgeous blush she had created. It was breathtaking and the smile on her face caused more skipped beats of her heart. She would have to extract revenge more often.

"Th-at wasn't nice," the beauty said still catching her breath.

"Revenge is sweet," Natsuki said mischievously.

"Is that so? Well, don't think you can win that easily."

"Oi, I did win," Though she was thinking that the score was probably 50-2 in Shizuru's favor.

While Natsuki was thinking about the score, she didn't pay attention to the shouts of her daughter warning her to watch out. She stood up quickly when she noticed that the other woman was going to try and make it 51-2; her face was back to normal and breathing calmed. The scary sight was the look on her opponent, a smirk replaced the bright smile and her eyes stared her down. She imagined that those eyes could probably cut through glass in a conference room if she wanted to.

_Really, what can she possibly do? _This was the last time the biker would ever underestimate the millionaire and her strength. She was grappled to the ground in less than five seconds, revealing unexpectedly the martial artist or just craziness of the other mom. She looked up at the ceiling in confusion when in only five seconds she attacked with the same treatment. Now, this was supposed to be a hidden trait, even her daughter didn't know this but when she started laughing just as uncontrollably she heard her daughter cheering for Shizuru.

Natsuki regained her composure for a brief second to grab her attacker's arm and pulled her down to the ground. Only this time she didn't fall as easily, and she received a self-satisfying grin from Shizuru.

"Ara, you think that'll work?"

"Well, I didn't realize I was battling the Pink Ranger," she responded, still holding onto her arm to drag her down. She figured out how to bring her down when she tickled her armpit and she was down on the floor.

Shizuru was giggling hysterically once again, "Now admit that mayo is the greatest condiment to ever grace this Earth."

"N-nooottt on your life," Shizuru said between giggles.

"I won't stop until you do. And the Kuga's reserve the right to add it to dinner you are preparing for us."

"Go Momma!" The little Kuga added excitedly.

Poor Kouta looked at his mother in disbelief, Natsuki wondered if she showed this side of herself often. She returned her attention to his mother and saw the blush returned and she smiled at the thought of potential victory. "You give up?"

"F-fffinnnee, you can have that retched white substance with your meal."

"Now say it's the greatest thing man has ever created," she relented and gave up the tickling.

"You're pushing it." She gazed at her tormentor. Natsuki acted as though she was going to tickle her again, "Okay! Okay!"

"See? How hard was that?" She said doing the Superman stance for the kids and they reacted with giggles of their own.

Natsuki offered a hand to the loser of the evening's battle and she pulled her up quickly and within seconds Shizuru had her arms around Natsuki's neck and her lips close to her right ear. "You win this battle but I will win the war," she whispered and unwrapped her arms and walked towards the kitchen.

_Damnit!_ The raven hair girl was fire engine red. _52-3_

After her blush died down a few minutes later, Natsuki followed everyone into the kitchen but stopped at the entry way to observe something that warmed her heart. Kouta and Aya were sitting on the bar stools helping with dinner. Aya was in an animated conversation with the Fujino's while she was pulling pieces of herbs from the stems. Kouta was measuring rice in a measuring cup and placing it in the rice cooker Shizuru must have found in the cabinets. Shizuru was encouraging the conversation and had another genuine smile and spoke softly to her daughter.

"…And whoooshhh, she beat the other guys," Aya finished her story excitedly.

"Wow, your Momma beat ten guys in the race?" Shizuru asked feigning surprise.

"Uh huh! She has a trophy in her room! But she says I can never, EVER, do what she did a long time ago. I want a dirt bike just like Momma's but she said I have to wait until I'm older," she said the last statement dejectedly.

"That's right. You'll have to ride your scooter for right now, "Natsuki responded before her daughter could form the "I'm cute and I know it" pout. "And why are you telling them these wild stories about me," she poked her nose and winked.

"You were cool Natsuki-sama. I wish I could do something like that," Kouta said filling the last cup of rice.

"Maybe when you're older I can teach you," Natsuki responded, than saw the glint in Shizuru's mahogany eyes, "Errr, if it's okay with your mother of course."

"You have to wait just like Aya, just add ten more years," Shizuru responding to her son and the racer.

"Awwww, Ojiisan rides a motorcycle too," Kouta whined.

"And Obaasan hates it but when you are married and work for a living, than you can buy a motorcycle just like Ojiisan and Natsuki-sama," she responded with a tease.

"Your father rides?" Natsuki asked.

Stirring the ingredients into the wok Shizuru nodded, "Hai, he has a nice collection of motorcycles as well. My mother hates that he rides since he had a pretty bad accident when I was in secondary school. It really scared her but my father isn't someone to let a 'slip up' stop him. He likes to seek a little bit of thrill and he promised my mother he would be extremely careful. I'm sure the moment he leaves the driveway he accelerates to an ungodly speed."

Natsuki realized with that explanation from Shizuru, it was probably the first time the Kyoto beauty didn't avoid anything related to her parents. "You can't help it, motorcycles are meant to be driven responsibly," she emphasized responsibly with the children next to her. "But depending on the bike, driving with speed is the only way to go…when you're experienced enough and know the area," looking at the kids.

"That's what my father says," Shizuru responded with an eye roll. "My mother wouldn't let me ride on the back of his bike after the incident and she didn't want me learning how to ride either."

"Momma can teach you Shi-chan, she's really good at riding and she hasn't had an accident," Aya said proudly.

"That's up to Shizuru," Natsuki responded to the thought. "If you want to learn though I don't mind showing you how. I probably don't have the selection of bikes your father has but you can use one of mine to learn if you are ever up for it."

"We'll see. But for now, why don't you grab some dishes so I can serve dinner, it'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Yes ma'am."

The two families ate dinner around the breakfast bar and conversed mainly about Natsuki's antics that were safe enough to tell Aya and Kouta about. Shizuru joked to Natsuki that she needed to buy an actual dining set and Natsuki agreed that she would at least entertain the idea but she figured if they were going to have more days like today, she should at least look. The meal was fantastic and the Kuga's only used a "little" bit of mayo but quickly realized they didn't need it.

After they were pleasantly stuffed, Aya jumped off the stool and went to let Duran out and shouted, "Arigato Shi-chan!"

Shizuru giggled at the precocious child, "Ie ie". She looked at her son while he was following Aya to let the canine out, "You should get your things together, we'll be leaving once I help Natsuki clean up."

"Hai!"

"You don't have to clean, let me do it. You made this awesome dinner and this whole day was your idea," Natsuki turned to Shizuru after Kouta left the room.

"It's okay, I don't mind. I made the mess after all," Shizuru said placing the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Woman, I won't take no for an answer. It's getting late and I'm sure he still needs to get ready for school in the morning." She saw Shizuru was going to protest, "Please?"

"Fine, you win. Okini."

"I'll take any victories I can," she said and smiled softly. "Thank you for today, I think it was the best day I have had in a long time." Natsuki didn't know where the sudden courage brew from when she took Shizuru's hand and held it and looked into the crimson eyes that enchanted her every time she looked into them.

Before Shizuru could respond the back door slammed shut and the dog came bolting into the common room with the kids in tow unaware that they interrupted a moment. The younger ones picked up a few of Kouta's belongings that were lying haphazardly on the coffee table and ran up the stairs to make sure he didn't leave anything in Aya's bedroom.

"I had a wonderful day as well," Shizuru said returning to the prior conversation. "I needed today to be honest; it was a very long couple of weeks." She rubbed her thumb over top Natsuki's clasped hand and looking intently into the emerald eyes.

The kids returned to the room their parents were in when they all walked out together. Shizuru and Natuski only let the hands go when they walked through the door but within seconds they were holding hands again, just to keep the contact for a few more moments. The Kuga's walked the Fujino's to their vehicle and saw Kouta buckle himself in the back seat waving goodbye to Aya through the window and she was on the other side her head barely visible since she wasn't very tall.

Natsuki let go of Shizuru's hand and missed the contact the moment it was gone but before she could think too much of it, Shizuru hugged her again but this time from the front. The both stood there for a few moments in the dusk, neither one the biker sensed wanted to let go.

Shizuru kissed her cheek once again just like before, but this time she let her lips stay there for a few extra seconds. She turned away towards the car not saying anything other than a soft "see you soon," before she entered the car.

Natsuki waved bye and took Aya by the hand to walk towards the house.

"Momma you are red again."

"Quiet."

_53-3._

* * *

I know this was pretty long I just didn't know where I could split it to make it two chapters. And for any returning readers, I used to get a lot of questions about Shizuru's past. It didn't feel right for this update but I do know where it's leading too and next couple of chapters won't be nearly this long. I hope you enjoyed it and were able to enjoy it with the grammatical errors.


	7. Cliffside Confessions

Greetings! I wanted to say thank you to all of the new readers and the folks that returned to read the continuation of my little story. I truly appreciate it and the kind words and encouragement.

Secondly, while I'm thankful it didn't take me four years to update this story but it did take me longer than I had hoped, but I do have my reasons! My partner accepted my proposal so cheers to being engaged! And we decided that our jobs are causing mad stress because it's our busy time of year and we are working twelve hours a day, we are in the process of purchasing our first home. Needless to say life is hectic.

I'd also like to send out a huge thank you to my buddy and beta **miggitdog**, we tag teamed again and she always makes the process fun even when laughing at my own dorky mistakes. She also made me the best birthday gift ever which is now my avatar :)

As I requested prior if we missed anything, please let us know but do not flame.

******I do not own or license Mai HiME or Mai Otome-all right's belong to Sunrise.**

* * *

On Wednesday afternoon about a week later, Natsuki walked into the bar where she agreed to meet Nao for an after-work drink.

The establishment was very different from Nuriko's, the other pub they frequented; certainly it had a 'higher class' feel to it. The customer base was what you would normally see in a business district, clean-cut men and women drinking and enjoying casual conversations. The fresh out of college or new into the work force looked a little disheveled and complained to the others while drinking beer and the corporate power monkeys of the world enjoying expensive whiskey and martinis. This bar was made with a polished rich cherry wood and behind the bartender was an array of top shelf liquors, while Nuriko's was more casual, the bar was older and scratched showing its age and only had maybe a dozen options for higher quality liquors.

Natsuki always felt out of place in the bars in this particular business district, though she certainly didn't look out of place. She was in her traditional black business pants and soft blue button down that was tailored perfectly. She eyed her friend sitting at a high bar table next to a large window playing with her phone and a tall drink of some kind that someone had probably purchased for her; Nao rarely bought herself drinks.

What she was wearing border-lined _too_ sexy; high heels Natsuki would break an ankle wearing, and a black skirt suit where the strategically placed slit was just shy of acceptable. The biker knew it was intentional, the red head was an excellent attorney but she certainly used her feminine powers to an advantage. "Hey," she said casually sitting down on a bar stool.

"What's up?" The red head responded not looking up from her phone.

"Not much."

"Hmmm," Nao responded before she put her phone down. "When will these jackasses realize that I don't settle?"

"Big case?"

"Yeah. Ugh, give me a few minutes; I have to call the moron they decided would be first chair. I can't believe they picked her over me on this one…all because of 'seniority'. My ass!" Nao huffed as she walked outside to make her phone call.

While Natsuki waited she placed her order with the server, but she found she was instantly lost in thoughts about a certain someone.

She was finally able to have lunch with the Kyoto beauty yesterday, though it wasn't necessarily what they originally intended. Shizuru had called her earlier in the morning to ask her if they could meet that afternoon, but the newly appointed Project Manager was swamped with work and the Fujino project she acquired. She was informed of her title change last week; it was pretty much the same position and included a salary increase, but it didn't compensate for the extra responsibilities. Making matters worse for the load she was carrying, she planned on taking Thursday off so she was short one work day in the office. She reluctantly said no to Shizuru's offer even though she was screaming 'yes' in her mind.

To her surprise, Shizuru walked into her office in the early afternoon with lunch from a local cafe and told her since she couldn't leave for a proper meal; she would have to bring it to her. Natsuki blushed at the gesture, the brunette really was thoughtful and not to mention beautiful, she would never be able to ignore that. They both had been so incredibly busy that it was the first time they had been able to converse in person, but that didn't mean they didn't talk every night or send dorky text messages in the middle of boring meetings to break the monotony of hearing rich and powerful men try to become more rich and powerful.

"Oi, earth to Pup!" Nao said trying to snap Natsuki out of her trance.

"What?" Visibly agitated that she was disrupted from her thoughts and annoyed she didn't snap back before Nao returned from her phone call. The smile she felt probably didn't escape her friends notice either. _ Damnit!_

"And what were you thinking about? I guess the better question is who were you thinking about?" Nao asked with an _all__-__knowing _grin on her face.

"Wha-? No one! Work!" Natsuki scolded back even as her eye twitched.

"Like hell. That look was not about engines and gasoline, though I have seen that dreamy eyed look of yours when you're contemplating a new motorcycle."

"Shove it. There's just a lot going on right now," Natsuki snapped back taking a large gulp of her beer, she hadn't noticed the server put it on the table.

"So, what's a lot? You are obviously seeing Princess Hottie lately."

"Nao!"

"Forgive me. Queen Hottie. Hell, when you own the largest corporation in Japan you might as well be high ranking royalty." The red head responded with her grin spreading like the Cheshire cat.

"She's not like that you ass," trying to brush off the blush as quickly as possible.

"Ooo, defending her are we? Wow, she does have your very expensive panties in a twist. She's seen them right? You have a large enough collection, might as well let someone else enjoy it!" Nao questioned laughing; she wasn't going to relent on this.

"Will you shut up?" In a loud whisper, she was worried they would have a large number of eyes and ears in their conversation at the rate Nao was laughing. "Get your mind out of the damn gutter! It's not like that!"

"What the hell is taking you so long?" The fiery one asked while wiping a tear from her right eye.

"Taking so long? We haven't even kis—DAMNIT!" Natsuki face-palmed the previous comments didn't grab the other patrons attention, that probably did. Natsuki wanted to hide in a corner and never come out…at least with the brat sitting next to her.

"Woh, you haven't kissed her yet? You haven't even gotten to first base! What the Gods name is taking you so long?" Nao asked in genuine surprise.

"It's not like that, we're not—" Natsuki stopped herself short since she couldn't say what they were outside of friends. "I've kissed her on the cheek, and vise versa. Happy now?"

"Oh you slut. You're in Lesbo Land now; you should be a month away from getting a cat and matching towels. You know the rules, for every one hetero year for couples is like three or seven in the land of the lesbians."

"And how would you know?" Natsuki glared in response.

"What do you think college is for? Enough to find out that just because I like boobs doesn't mean I want the entire package…hell even gay men like them."

"Oh for the love of…I can't believe I'm sitting here listening to this shit. There's no cat, we're not dating and certainly not in the realm of picking out matching _anything _let alone _that_!" Natsuki retorted back looking for the server since her beer was shot gunned a few minutes ago.

"Pup, what in the world do you call what you two have been doing? You've had _dates_ even though the ankle biters were in tow," Nao said a bit more seriously.

"The kids wanted to play." Natsuki shrugged.

"Didn't they hate each other until recently?" Nao quirked.

Natsuki sighed, "Where are you going with this?"

"What I'm saying is that you are too dense for your own good."

"Why does everyone think I'm dense?"

"Who else said you were dense? They're onto something if it has to do with Queen Hottie," Nao questioned taking a sip of her drink.

"Just forget it. For some reason you won't leave the subject of her and I alone, Shizuru invited you and a date to a benefit that's next weekend. Her company hosts it every year and because of the recent project, I'm obligated to go."

"You? Obligated? You always find a way to get out of that shit. Did _she_ ask you to go?"

"Baka! I can't get out of this one. And yes, she asked me, it's not a big deal. We'll probably be going with a few people she works with." The cobalt beauty turned the other direction so Nao couldn't see the faint blush forming; she knew she was dead if the other one caught it.

"Holy flippin' hell, you ARE dense! Pup, that's not a 'hey meet me there and we'll chill' kind of thing. She asked you to be her date and if you think the other dates weren't actual dates, well Champ, this is the real deal." Nao said, her face in utter disbelief at Natsuki's reluctance to accept the present situation.

"It's NOT like that! You're really pissing me off." Natsuki was red but not the adorable blushing red Shizuru liked so much, this was the tomato shade of anger.

"It is," Nao stated not backing down. "Why are you so fucking worried whether it's a date or not? It's just a date. A date, a date, date, date, date…see, date, date, date. No one is dying because the word is being used!"

"You don't understand! I've never been in this position before and I've never felt this way before!" Natsuki shouted surprising herself at the admission.

"Wow, I didn't think you would admit it," her friend responded in shock. "Look, I'm going to wear my serious pants now."

"You mean you didn't leave them on the floor somewhere after one of your 'Wham-Bam-Thank You Mans'?" Natsuki asked sarcastically.

"I'll have you know I'm going through a dry spell, over four weeks. It sucks. But we're not talking about me."

"What? Are you sick? Have you ever gone that long?" The biker asked surprised.

"Ugh. Remember that guy Kuzuki from the bar some weeks back? Can you believe the jerk _didn't _want to jump in the sack after all the hours of eye screwing we were doing?"

"Kuzuki? Well frankly, I'm surprised you remember his name but I think I know who you're talking about. Hahaha, he didn't want to sleep with you? That has to be a first."

"He got all weird with me and said he didn't want to ruin the night we had and wanted to see me again. What the hell is that?" She said while taking a long drink after coming clean.

"Oh Heaven forbid someone that you've actually talked to where their moral compass points north. How will you ever be able to handle a decent human being like that?" The raven haired girl said rolling her eyes.

"Bite me. I found out today that he's the prosecutor on the case I'm working on right now. He works for the DA and they're going after one of the company's I represent. They're going on witch hunts after the economy and investments hit the shitter."

"Shame on him for protecting the masses," another eye roll formed with the emerald eyes.

"Hey, the CEO is morally bankrupt but as far as I can tell he didn't do anything illegal. Sure he's scum but this scum is going to pay my retention that will be more than what I made the whole year last year. Just imagine how much I would make if that bitch didn't take first chair in the case," the last comment was laced in venom.

"Well if it means you are getting paid well," the raven haired girl gave a half glare.

"Don't give me that, you know damn well I don't want to work my entire life. If I can get more of these kinds of cases for ten to fifteen years my ass is retiring and moving from this damn country."

Natsuki simply nodded at her friend's life plans. She knew deep down that Nao didn't like protecting these high powered assholes but she did want to keep a nice lifestyle and never wanted to worry for anything ever again. Her independence was what she cherished most after her mother and probably Aya. She might be ruthless in court and sometimes in her demeanor but she really did have compassion but at the same time Nao would always place what she wanted in life above anything else. Natsuki didn't blame her, if she didn't have Aya she might have been the same way. Amazing what becoming a parent will do to someone.

"You officially avoided the subject of you and Shizuru for a few minutes and we're going back to that," the red head returning to her serious voice; she lifted her finger to the server asking for one more drink.

"Don't. Let's just drop it," Natsuki responded avoiding eye contact, she was just starting to feel comfortable again.

"I'm not letting you drop it. I know I should be the last person giving you relationship advice but I know you better than anyone else. I have never seen you this way with anyone and frankly, I wasn't sure I ever would see you like this."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Natsuki asked more out of curiosity than agitation but she let the agitation show a little just to be able to pull back when Nao crossed the line again.

"They didn't call you the Ice Princess for no reason. Hey, I get it and most of the people deserved the death glare and the brush off's you gave them, people are asshats. I know I was pretty much the same and it didn't bother me, could care less even to this day what people think."

"And you think I do?" Natsuki cut Nao off.

"No, I don't think you gave a shit but I do think you care more now than you did back then. You have Aya to think about now and you're far more concerned with what people say and think now. It's still nothing compared to most people but..."

"Where are you going with this? I don't have all day."

"Dude, you just have to feel this whole situation out. I bet my salary that you are over thinking and analyzing every move you or Shizuru make. Or _don't_ make it sounds more like."

"What do you want me to say? That I like her? Of course I do, there isn't anything not to like about her. That I have no clue what I'm feeling? I don't know what it is," Natsuki exclaimed squirming in her bar stool.

"Yes you do, because you've never felt this so you know that it's more than a general liking of someone," Nao said, her green eyes were very serious.

"Fine. I care about her but there are so many things that I don't know about her, one minute I think I see the real her and the next I'm caught off guard at her mask." Natsuki was frustrated and what bothered her was she was more at Shizuru's evasiveness than her best friend actually being a friend.

"How much have you told her about you?" Nao asked swirling her drink; she was obviously just as uncomfortable with the deep conversation. This was a rarity.

Natsuki was visibly taken aback by the question, Nao wasn't just asking about the love of her motorcycles, her career or her daughter. She continued contemplating the time spent talking and hanging out with the heiress, she had to admit that she didn't reveal much either. "Not a lot," she sighed.

"Pup, she's probably responding to the lack of info you're giving her. She probably has skeletons in her closet and if anyone can understand that it's you. If you want to get to know her you are going to give her something about yourself and I know you don't want to revisit that. It's up to you though."

"Where in the world did this advice come from? This is not like you at all," the biker asked quietly.

"Oprah. That chick makes grown men cry, she's a therapist to the world!"

Natsuki coughed up her beer at the ridiculous answer, "Oprah? You're giving me advice that you got from a TV show?"

"Don't hate. She's taught and inspired millions, billions even!" Nao cracked a smile hoping the Natsuki would finally catch on she was joking.

"Baka! Can you take anything serious for more than a few minutes?"

"Cripes, ignore the Oprah joke and think about what I said. Why don't you try letting something good happen to you for once."

"I'll consider it," Natsuki relented standing up from the bar stool. "I better get going, Aya will be ready to be picked up in a little while," she said drinking the last gulp of beer in her glass and pulling some cash from her wallet.

"Are you still dropping her off early tomorrow?"

"Ee, I'll have her there probably by seven," Natsuki answered walking out of the bar.

"You're killing me! I guess I'll have to be up, taking a damn day off and I have to be up just as early. Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Nao asked with concern.

"No thanks, taking Aya for the day is more than enough," Natsuki replied with reaching for her keys in her suit pocket. Since college Nao had offered and every year she turned her down, but she did think it was nice of her to offer, she was a good friend deep down, _never admitting that though. "_Crap, I left my cell on the table."

"I'll get it. I have to make sure I close my tab anyways…if I have one," Nao waved back while she walked back into the bar. A minute later she was out front and handed the cell back to Natsuki, "Didn't have one," she said with a satisfied grin.

"What else is new? See you tomorrow."

* * *

Natsuki woke up at the usual time for a weekday, and went through a similar routine she always did in the morning. This day was different than the typical Thursday, every year this day was differentthough. She dropped Aya off at Nao's noticing that she didn't bother to change out of her pajamas, if you could call them that, an expensive looking teddy was barely covering her upper body but luckily she managed to put on some silk boxers. She looked like she had gotten out of bed only a few minutes before they arrived. She kissed and hugged her daughter and told them to have fun, Nao had planned for them to do a few things that Aya would enjoy.

When Natsuki returned home she went out for a quick run to break some of the tension and weariness. She had the nightmare that plagued her every year this day approached and she was grateful that they didn't come to her as frequently as they did when she was younger. She would wake up in a cold sweat, always replaying that night in her mind. There was always a small change in the dream but it was still the same events and she would always wake up in a cold sweat and panic. Always alone. No one there to comfort her but the dreams had died down over time and she reflected that they stopped being so intense shortly after Ayas birth, but sometimes she would be the one that was gone.

Shaking some of the sadness away, her feet hit the pavement; her iPod was playing a random mix of adrenaline pumping music. She timed the rifts and strong beats by running faster or a slower depending on the pace of music. She sprint the last quarter mile to her house and stretched her muscles and waiting for her heart to slow down. She opened the garage door to inspect the Ducati and found a spark plug that was coming a little loose and went to her tool chest to make the quick fix. She would be riding over an hour outside of the city today and she wanted to make sure she didn't have to stop for any complications that could be prevented.

After the quick fix and a couple of minor adjustments to her bike, she walked inside and let Duran out for another break. While he was outside she took a quick shower, dried her hair and dressed in a simple white t-shirt. She walked into her closet and pulled out her best leathers, on this day she always wore her best gear. It wasn't that she didn't like them; she wore her usual black and red leathers because they were broken in and more comfortable but as with every year, it didn't feel right to be comfortable. Before acquiring her first motorcycle, from her father surprisingly, it was a guilt gift. The man decided that his new family was more important and he provided her with money and expensive gifts from time to time but she knew it wouldn't last. She did save a lot of her allowance while in high school knowing damn well that it would be cut off the moment she turned 18. He didn't disappoint her either.

Physically shaking the thoughts of her father out of her mind, to her he didn't deserve a single thought on this day. She zipped up the lower half of the black and emerald green leathers waiting until she was ready to leave to adjust the upper section and put on her riding boots. Natsuki walked downstairs to let the dog back in and gave him a quick pet and treat for being a good puppy and put a note on the counter for Mikoto, she asked the young girl to come in after school to let him out and feed him. She wasn't quite sure what Nao's plans were for the day so she was prepared for the poor dog.

Natsuki walked to the garage once again, her back to the open bay door and slid her arms through the leathers her head down zipping them up. She picked out her custom made helmet that had a wolf howling at the moon. Aya and Nao had it made for her for her birthday the prior year; the wolves were obviously her daughter's idea, but it was perfect reflection of them both.

She squeezed her head through flipping the shaded visor down when she was stunned by the distinct, "Ara." She sped around quickly to see the Kyoto beauty standing a couple of steps inside her garage while she standing straight with her arms behind her back, she appeared a little nervous.

"Shizuru! What are you doing here?" The biker asked muffled by her helmet. She was thankful that the visor covered up the stone shocked face although her body language probably spoke for itself. Her emerald eyes gazed at the woman in front of her, she was wearing dark washed jeans, black boots and a crimson red knit shirt that was covered by a very expensive leather riding jacket. Natsuki recognized the jacket immediately since it was top of the line and appeared to be brand new.

"I got a phone call from Nao-san yesterday evening saying that I needed to 'get my ass over here' tomorrow, 8:30 sharp," Shizuru lightly chuckled her nervousness appeared to wash away. "Ara, still not quite sure how she got my phone number since it isn't listed," Shizuru lifted her finger to her chin.

_BAKA! That ass must have checked my phone when she grabbed it yesterday; I'm going to drop kick that brat. _"Gomen, she must have taken your number out of my phone yesterday," taking her helmet off and collecting herself from her thoughts of killing the pesky fly that never seems to leave you alone. "You don't need to be here, this isn't a joy ride. It's my—" Natsuki's monotone admission was cut off.

"I know what today is," Shizuru responded quietly and avoiding eye contact. "Nao-san told me yesterday."

"I'm sorry she guilted you into coming, but I'm fine. You don't need to waste your day being with me," Natsuki cut back, maybe a little too harshly.

The tone caused Shizuru to whip her head so she was staring intently at her emerald eyes, "You're not wasting my day and don't think so little of yourself and what this day means," there was a hint of anger behind her words.

Natsuki was surprised by the tone, it wasn't really anger she detected but she couldn't put her finger on it. "I'm sorry Shizuru, I didn't mean for it to come off that way. No one other than Nao has offered to come but she's never pushed the issue either." Natsuki's features softening and small blush was forming but she didn't bother to hide it.

The brunette walked to her and gently pressed her hand to the bikers shoulder, "Let me be there for you, you shouldn't have to do this alone." Her mask was off.

Natsuki could feel the emotions building in her chest and she made her body control them before they could become too visible to the caring crimson eyes that were looking at her with such concern. _You shouldn't have to do this alone_ traveled through her mind a few more times within the minute long silence. "Arigato Shizuru," she finally responded putting her hand on the other woman's hand resting on her shoulder.

"Anything for Natsuki," the beautiful woman responded with a genuine smile. "Nao-san told me to 'break out the gold card' if I didn't have riding gear, assuming you would be taking your motorcycle out," Shizuru chuckled easing some of the mood.

"Ugh, she's ridiculous! " The raven haired woman was rubbing the tension between her eyes, "Since you're coming we can always take my car."

"I want to ride with Natsuki, besides I already bought the jacket after you told me you would teach me how to ride a motorcycle. Nao-san is aggressive but she cares about you, that is obvious."

Natsuki blushed intensely and by the sound of Shizuru's giggle and that was her intention, "Baka," she didn't put much emphasis on it. "Fine. Have it your way," she huffed walking towards the other helmets she had and picked out a plain black one that was a similar style to the one she wore all the time, the visor wasn't shaded though. She usually wore it for night riding. "Put this on," she said handing it to Shizuru.

They both put their helmets on and Natsuki's jaw dropped at the sight of the Kyoto _biker _in front of her, she looked sexy. Natsuki didn't realize that she didn't flip the visor down and heard another giggle from the other woman and she flipped the visor down to hide her face. She started the bike as a distraction from the giggles and trying to shake everything out of her system; Shizuru had not ridden on a motorcycle in many years due to her father's accident and wanted this to be a safe experience for her.

"Get on the back and place your feet at the pegs in the back," Natsuki said after she lifted the visor again so her passenger could hear her instructions. "I'll drive slower since it's been a while and there will also be some traffic until we leave the city. Just make sure you hang on tightly and give a quick squeeze if I'm going too fast. Oh and make sure you lean in the same direction."

"I've seen my father my whole life and I didn't forget the basics but ookini for being so cautious," Shizuru's eyes were soft with appreciation for the concern.

"Oh yeah, well, I still don't want anything to happen to you," Natsuki replied back starting the Ducati and revving the engine and adjusting the clutch.

Shizuru climbed on the bike behind her and wrapping her arms around the driver. Natsuki felt the electricity shoot down her spine and her heart fluttered, this was something that probably would never go away when the other woman touched her. Natsuki pulled her visor down and nodded to Shizuru that she was going to start driving and Shizuru hugged her from behind getting into position.

They drove through the city faster than Natsuki expected and were out of the city limits in half an hour. The air whipping around them was crisp but the day was beautiful, Natsuki always thought of the irony and that powers out of her reach played a trick on her every year on this day. The day of loss was filled with a chilling spring downpour that usually came during the season but the same day she always visited the spot, the day was sunny and bright with life. She always felt it was life's cruel joke.

The road was outlined with trees in mid-bloom and the green landscape along the windy road was bright with anticipation of the next season. Natsuki broke out of her thoughts when she felt a long squeeze from Shizuru behind her and she looked back to confirm what it meant and she received a nod that she could see out of the corner of her eye. Shizuru tightened the hug and Natsuki pushed the petal and increased the speed in less than five seconds, weaving in and out with the curves of the road, their bodies completely in sync as they leaned with the curves. Natsuki always felt freedom riding her bike but having Shizuru with her gave her a different feeling she couldn't articulate but it did feel wonderful. She could feel the curve of her body against her back; it was soft and toned reflecting a bit of the personality she had come to know with the crimson beauty. Her arms were strong judging by the grip around her waist, she definitely worked out Natsuki mused.

They approached a small town and Natuski slowed the bike down until she parked her bike across a small flower stand on the sidewalk in the south side of town. "Wait here a minute, I'll be right back," removing herself from the bike.

She walked across the street and picked out a small bouquet of small white flowers and gave the shop keeper some cash she took out of her front pocket. She got the same arrangement for the past ten years, before she had her bike she would take the local bus to the town and walk to the destination. She walked in the direction where Shizuru was standing and stretching off the ride, she paced with a heavy heart and the weight of the day returned like a punch to the gut. She didn't say anything, just opened the small storage device that was attached to the Ducati and tried not to damage the arrangement, the bottom stems bent a little to fit into the container.

"Ready?" She asked and received a nod from her companion. "Its a few miles east of here," putting her helmet back on.

They were back on the motorcycle and drove their way east, Shizuru was still gripping onto Natsuki but not as tightly. She suspected that the person behind her felt the tension oozing from her body and given the circumstance they were in, she tried to give her space.

They approached the cliff side and Natsuki parked and turned the bike off. The cliff overlooked a large body of water, the sounds of the tide crashing the large rocks below. There was a concrete barrier and bent blue sign that said "Scenic Overlook" in several languages. Another cruel joke that someone played on the young woman, to take a place that was the scene of loss and turn it into a tourist destination. The raven-haired girl squeezed her hands tightly; they were probably white under her gloved hands she was gripping so hard.

Natsuki released herself from the bike once again, she didn't say anything; she only listened to the new signs of life all around her. She was trying to keep her anger in check since Shizuru was with her. Any other time she would have cursed her fate and the circumstances surrounding her mother's death; she didn't want to expose that to the other woman. Collecting her emotions, she took the flowers out and looked at the crimson eyes which were filled with many emotions but quickly turned her face away because she hated being this vulnerable in front of other people, especially in front of someone that was so strong and controlled.

Natsuki turned her head a few moments later and gazed at Shizuru, her eyes reflected no judgment of her turning away and she silently nodded allowing Natsuki to proceed as she normally would on this day. Natsuki smiled softly and a lone tear escaped her left eye, but she didn't wipe it away. If she was going to be vulnerable in front of someone she had no choice in her mind but to have it be the chestnut haired beauty standing with her.

She walked towards the edge and looked out to the horizon, the body of water stretched as far as the eyes could see. _Happy Birthday Okasan. You would be fifty today, and I wonder how we would have celebrated the milestone. I don't doubt you wouldn't have made a big deal out of it and you probably would work late in the lab thinking it was just like any normal work day. I don't doubt you would have scolded me for taking the day off as well to acknowledge this day, you really were career minded. Your granddaughter wishes you a Happy Birthday as well and she wanted you to know that she loves you even though you are way up in the sky watching her. That's what I tell her anyways._

_I still have so many questions and I wonder if how you would be reacting to my parenting skills. One thing you taught me without meaning too was that I have to put her first, I was always a distant second to your lab! _Natsuki tightened her grip and the anger was rising, threatening to break out but she took a deep breath before she continued her silent talk with her mother. _Through all of that, I love you and I still want to know how you lost control, that night repeats in my mind but it doesn't haunt me like it did in the past. I have to move forward and I think you want me too. You covered your tracks pretty well, I'll give you that much…you were always prepared. But what you weren't prepared for is what would happen to me if you left this world like you did. Did you really think that bastard would take responsibility for his own flesh and blood once he started shacking up with that other woman? Too bad you didn't plan that far ahead._

She took another deep breath, calmer now but she still couldn't hold back a few tears. _As much as it pains me that you're gone, I wouldn't trade Aya for anything in this world, not even to have you back. I know you were pretty old fashioned and would not approve of how she came into this Earth but she's my reason for living._

She turned her head to take a moment and she saw Shizuru's head bowed down giving a silent prayer, it touched her heart and caused more tears to leak out of the emerald orbs. She gazed back at the vast body of water; blurred by the tears. _That's Shizuru. And one day, I will be that person she is becoming for me. _That was a silent promise and her mother knew she didn't back away from a promise. She tossed the flowers into the water and watched them float with the tide.

"Natsuki? Are you okay?" The Kyoto-ben asked quietly, she was only a few steps behind Natsuki.

"Mmm-hmm, I'm fine," Natsuki responded taking her arm to wipe the last of the tears. She turned around to see Shizuru's mask completely gone, only a conflict of emotions cascading her face. The biker closed the gap between the two of them and hugged her, "Arigato Shizuru."

Shizuru felt stunned by the action for a mere second but wrapped her arms around Natsuki's embrace. "Anytime, but I didn't do anything. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," removing herself from the embrace to give herself some space again. "Today is my mother's birthday, she would have been fifty. We were in a car accident when I was eight, she was killed instantly…right there," Natsuki said with tension pointing to the center of the concrete barricade.

"Natsuki…"

"It was dark and it down-poured that whole week, I remember playing in a room my mother had set up at her company's office since she worked so much and they closed schools because of flooding," she said reminiscing, she felt her mind and body relive that night. She walked closer to the barricade and stared at nothingness. "She was very nervous that night and was driving erratically, I'm still unsure if it was the rain or something else that was going on. She looked panicked the whole drive and was taking the curves faster and you could feel the car hydroplaning. She kept telling me to stay calm and hang onto Duran-chan, my stuffed dog she gave me when I was little, I took him everywhere." She turned slightly at the last statement and saw a small smile from Shizuru at the memory of her favorite toy.

Looking out again she continued, "I yelled in fear when I saw my mother was on the wrong side of the road and a large truck was driving towards our car. She looked in the rear-view mirror for a moment instead of correcting her driving and when the truck honked his horn my mother over corrected around this bend and the car swiped the front end of the truck causing the car to flip into the guard rail that was here before they changed it to a concrete wall. I found out it was shortly after the accident," she wiped the cascade of tears that were free flowing and she didn't want to look at Shizuru, worried about the pain that was probably in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry…"

"I don't know how I survived. I overheard the doctors say when I was in the hospital that being in the back seat probably saved my life. I was there for over a week and…my father arrived at the hospital a day later. He hugged me but told me he was very busy and I had to stay with other relatives because he was so busy," the anger clinging to the last statement. "I ended up in a private middle and high school that had dorms, he paid for that and gave me an allowance. I haven't seen him since I was pregnant with Aya, he made it clear he didn't agree, asshole."

"Natsuki," Shizuru whispered and didn't allow for any space between them, she held her from behind loosely, giving Natsuki the option to walk away if she needed too. There wasn't a hint of her usual tease, only the embrace and willfulness to comfort someone that they cared about.

Natsuki didn't brush her away, she didn't blush, she presently allowed herself to feel but it didn't change the past. "If I didn't yell and cause her to look at me, she—"

"No, this is not your fault. You were only a child and you were scared. Natsuki, her death was not your fault, do you hear me?" Shizuru's voice was stern but gentle at the same time and she tightened her embrace. "I'm so sorry for your loss but please find a way to absolve yourself from the accident. You were innocent."

"I don't know how," she admitted with her voice almost breaking.

"This might be a start," Shizuru contemplated out loud, "you have held this in for almost twenty years, but you have to move forward and let it go. I'll help you anyway I can, I don't want this on your shoulders anymore. You're so strong, I believe in Natsuki."

"I'm not as strong as you, Shizuru," she tilt her head up to the sky when she said this to the woman holding her.

"I'm not as strong as you think, either," Shizuru said matter of fact, and freed herself from Natsuki and walked towards a pathway that was created so visitors could hike by the rocks along the cliff.

"Shizuru…?" Natsuki said quietly as she watched the other woman walk further away, the distance was palpable.

The pathway was mainly a combination of dirt and pebbles; the brush was cleared and visibly maintained so others could access the trail. Natsuki followed the chestnut-haired woman for several minutes walking carefully to avoid tripping and tumbling into the woman guiding them. She noticed that Shizuru didn't plan on following the trail; she detoured through some brush towards the large rocks that were along the water. Shizuru climbed on a massive gray and brown boulder while still silent, the only sound was the crash of the tide flowing in and out.

The biker didn't follow her onto the boulder and she didn't break the silence, she observed Shizuru standing looking into the distance, the breeze was a little stronger now they were a few feet from the water but not strong enough to consider it windy. She saw Shizuru's distant expression and her hair flowing in the direction of the gusts of air. The mask returned but it wasn't on completely but enough that it worried Natsuki; she hated it. _Shizuru…_

"Tell me," Natsuki said breaking the unbearable silence.

Shizuru was taken aback at the broken silence and turned to look at Natsuki, her expression of surprise overtook the woman and the crimson orbs showed pain and confusion. "Ano?"

"Tell me where you were just now," the worried biker said seeing the mask building quickly, "Don't, please don't."

Shizuru appeared to understand Natsuki's last assertion and didn't let the wall build back up completely and she bowed her head slightly, the weight of whatever was bothering her was clearly present. Natsuki wanted to go to her desperately, to hold her; be a source of comfort for her but her instincts told her to stay back for now. It was up to the other person whether she would clarify her belief that she wasn't strong because Natsuki could never believe that she was weak, no matter what happened in her life.

"Today is for Natsuki, you don't have to worry," the Kyoto beauty said forcing a smile of reassurance.

"Too late, I am worried but for the same reasons you are for me. Something is bothering you and for some time, you were just there. You can't say that I should come to you for help when you are going to put up a front that you don't need the same in return or to walk away from me thinking you're not a strong person. " Natsuki's resolve was back and the honest declaration to Shizuru made her feel like she was herself again. Her serious viridian eyes stared at mahogany, she made sure that her eyes showed that she was serious but wanted to make sure they conveyed the warmth she felt for Shizuru. It might have been her mother's birthday but she wanted to focus on this moment and this person that needed a quick reminder that Natsuki never backed down and she wasn't letting Shizuru evade whatever was hurting her.

A faint blush spread beneath Shizuru's eyes, "I'm sorry, you're right." Shizuru moved her body to face the water again.

"I am?" Natsuki was stunned; she wasn't expecting that response. Shizuru wasn't looking at her anymore she missed her expression. She climbed the large rock and stood behind Shizuru who was closer to the edge.

"Hearing about your mother drew out unexpected feelings, sometimes I feel like I have forgiven myself for my actions but when I heard the pain in your voice and this unfounded belief that I'm strong…the regret struck me again." Shizuru said in a composed manner. "Please don't have any regrets having me come with you; I wanted more than anything to be here for you. Here I am thinking I can be a source of strength for you, you turn the tables on me and I find myself holding onto your strength…one that I lacked for a long time…maybe even to this day."

"You are strong! I see it every time we're together. If I thought you were weak we wouldn't be where we are today, I have had enough of those people in my life that I can see them a kilometer away. "

"I'm happy that you feel that way, even if I don't see what you do," Shizuru glanced for a moment at the biker than sighed quietly. "I was born into a very wealthy family and my parents are deeply committed to their marriage and each other. It's pretty common knowledge in the world I grew up in that powerful men had mistresses and second lives to what they portrayed to the public and other families, but I trust deep down that my father never strayed away from my mother.

We were the picture of the perfect family, I was the perfect daughter. Dutiful, intelligent, kaichou in high school, played the piano, mastered the art of tea making and studied martial arts from the time I was four years old. I had admirers in high school and college, one in particular, but I perfected my image, giving just enough attention to anyone that came to speak to me and always said the right thing. Looking back, deep down I was bored and restless and the only true person that knew I was full of it was Reito. I think everyone, including my parents, thought we would end up together but we never felt that way for another. You should have seen the look on his face when he first caught glimpse of her," Shizuru chuckled at the memory of Reito seeing his wife.

_Probably a similar look that I gave when I saw you and I'm sorry I had to miss that, it would have been priceless. _"I'm sorry I missed it," Natsuki said forming a small smile.

"I knew he was hooked the moment they met, and I was and am still very happy for him." There was sadness to the statement that didn't escape Natsuki but before she could say anything Shizuru continued, "Reito found happiness and I think for the first time in my life I felt jealousy. Not because I wanted to be with Reito but he found someone that saw through him and it lead to acts that I regret to this day."

Natsuki was trying to decipher where this was leading too, Shizuru was telling her a few things that she had heard a little bit about during other conversations, though not like this. "What happened?" Natsuki asked only leaving a small gap between the two of them; the older woman was fixated on the horizon in front of them.

Shizuru was silent for a very long minute, "This may change…I don't know if…" Shizuru's looked at Natsuki again, her features revealed a kaleidoscope of emotions; changing every half second.

"Trust me Shizuru," Natsuki said brushing her hand on her arm, "I'm here."

The rustic eyes must have seen the honesty in the emerald eyes' and she turned her head slightly but made sure she was facing the biker for the moment. "Before my finals during my third year in college, I discovered I was pregnant with Kouta…and I panicked like anyone else would but I did not want to go through with the pregnancy. I didn't question it at the time, and if my parents found out or worse if I brought shame to my family name and business I would never have forgiven myself.

I didn't know where to go or what to do, after reality set in I slipped into a deep depression." Shizuru backed away from Natsuki and turned her back to the biker, the past and pain clinging to her. "I didn't eat or take care of myself; looking back I was probably conscious of what I was doing. If I didn't eat and lost the weight I did or didn't look after myself than my body would end the pregnancy." Shizuru said guiltily as she crossed her arms as if she was freezing.

"After finals, I returned home in Kyoto. I couldn't look my parents in the eye and I know they could tell I wasn't well but I told them not to worry that I had a rough semester with my course load and I was just tired. I think they believed me for a little while. I didn't change when I came home, I didn't have an appetite and I stayed in my room most of the time. I was so preoccupied with my selfishness that I wasn't thinking of the baby if he or she did make it through because I was still pregnant.

Eventually, the improper eating and care caught up to me and I almost fainted that forced my parents called the family doctor. It was then that my secret had been revealed and it devastated them, my fears came true. I disappointed my parents," Shizuru wiped a long tear that escaped but she kept her composure.

"Some time passed and my parents forced me to take care of myself and eventually we were able to talk about it. My father didn't want me to live a life in secret but he didn't believe he would have to prepare for something like this. We decided that I would finish my last year of college at home via correspondence, but I was so ashamed that I rarely left the house. I ignored any attempts of contact that Reito or others made; I couldn't face him or anyone else."

Tears trickled down Shizuru's porcelain face, "I went into labor six weeks early," the pain was evident with soft sobs starting to form. "He-he was so tiny," she said in agony.

Natsuki noticed that Shizuru's body was shaking and her knees appeared as if they were going to give out and she immediately went to her side and coaxed her down to her knees. She raised her hand to the tears and wiped them away but they were pouring out that it had little effect. The crimson eyes were raw with turmoil; Natsuki's heart ached but she didn't say anything, the normally collected and poised woman needed to release the guilt or it would continue to weigh her down.

Shizuru lowered her head once again, "Kouta was so small and it was my fault…it was my fault!" She said bitterly. "He was in neonatal intensive care unit the first month of his life, the nurses and doctors kept telling me he needed my touch and to sit with him. I couldn't, how could I look at this little life that was so innocent and I am his mother, I was supposed to protect him. My selfishness almost cost him his life and I could not forgive myself despite the pleading from my mother and father." The confession caused Shizuru to sob uncontrollably with her hands covering her face, "They told me that his lungs were under developed and I would have to expect some problems but everyone tried reassuring me he was going to be fine.

I kept myself separated from the baby; I didn't even give him a name. Without my knowledge my father called Reito, they didn't know where else to turn. He showed up in my room and I don't remember seeing him so angry and hurt towards me," she wiped the tears and the sobs died down. "He yelled and cussed at me, he was so angry, or that's what I thought at the time. He pleaded with me to see my 'son' and fight because I was the most important person to Kouta. He wanted me to be the best friend he knew, the person that wouldn't run away from life.

He went with me to see him and he was there when I held the baby. I cried for the first time in years in front of anyone, everything hurt but I wasn't expecting to feel what I did when I held him, it wasn't an instant bond but there was something. When I fully came around I promised my son I would never forgive myself for being so weak, it was my punishment that I could live with, I did not deserve his love but I would do everything I could to make it up to him," the sobs returned in full force.

Natsuki couldn't handle it anymore and her own tears drizzled down her cheeks and she grabbed Shizuru in a tight hug and held her, "You need to forgive yourself Shizuru."

"I don't deserve too. How can I call myself a mother when I was supposed to protect him, he was so innocent."

"You would lay your life for Kouta, it's obvious that you love him and would do anything to prevent him from feeling pain. You protect him now, you are strong for him now and it's because of the past…he wouldn't want you to think this way," Natsuki said holding her tighter.

"Your mother protected you and you lost her; your father left you but you still found the strength to be there for Aya and didn't question your future with her."

"Are you kidding? Shizuru, I was a wreck when I found out and I had the same thoughts you did. How the hell was I supposed to take care of her? It's not like I had the greatest influences in my life, I love my mother but I was not her number one priority. Sure, my father left but he was a weak man and it didn't take me long to figure that out. I had to be very different and that was a struggle, just like you know now, it wasn't about me anymore," the biker's tears were leaking for her past, for Shizuru's past, for her mother.

Shizuru remained in the firm embrace for a little while and in time crimson eyes met with the tear filled viridian eyes, "Kanin na, I was supposed to be there for you and it seems like you were the one consoling me," wiping the last of her tears.

"Heh, you did, don't worry," Natsuki mirroring the action and she formed a soft smile. "Don't apologize for showing me the real you, your past only makes you who you are today and I hope that one day you can see that you can forgive yourself, and I will help any way I can. You're human Shizuru, you have regrets but you have made the best of them and Kouta doesn't remember any of it. He has nothing but pride and adoration for you, I see it every time he's with you."

"Ookini," the other woman said in a whisper and she hugged Natsuki placing her head on Natsuki's chest.

Natsuki shifted her legs from the kneeling position so she was sitting on her bum and lay on her back bringing Shizuru down with her. She put her left arm behind her head for support and looked up at the clear sky. The honey-haired beauty sensed what Natsuki intentions were and rested her head on her chest hugging her while resting on her side.

They lay in that position for a while, the biker gently rubbed Shizuru's back and she could tell by the slow heartbeats that she was relaxed and she saw her eyes were closed. Natsuki felt content and she watched the small clouds stream across the sky, she was thinking about Shizuru's confession and her own. She didn't hold animosity towards the woman she was holding, although it was difficult to hear about her struggles. Shizuru had been lost and unsure of her life at the time, and bringing a child into the world would have only complicated her life even more. From the sound of it, Shizuru still had her moments of doubt. Yet, here she was. Everything Natsuki had witnessed so far had shown Shizuru to be a strong dedicated woman, and a good mother. Natsuki was curious about the father, she figured she would find out sooner or later; he wasn't in the picture and there was probably a reason behind it. It wasn't important right now. Shizuru worked hard to keep her facade and she was more appreciative toward Reito than she thought she ever would be…he was her Nao, just tactful.

It would be interesting to see Reito angry though, he was played the mysteriousness as much as Shizuru and she wondered what his wife was like. She also wondered what a jealous Shizuru was like; probably a little scary she chuckled to herself thinking about it.

Natsuki's was removed from her daydreaming when she felt Shizuru stir from her resting position; her eyes met the relaxed crimson eyes that were looking at hers. Shizuru moved her chin to Natsuki's chest, "What are you thinking about?"

"You being jealous," Natsuki grinned, "I haven't seen that yet and I was picturing it in my mind," she teased which formed a small blush on the beautiful woman's cheeks.

"Hmm, it's not that kawaii, thank you very much." The pain was gone from her voice and she was trying to cover the blush.

"I'm sure it's gorgeous," Natsuki admitted a tinge of pink spread under her eyes.

"I wonder if it's as cute as your blushes," Shizuru laughed lightly.

"Quiet you," she said half-serious but squeezed her hug to let the other woman know she was not angry.

A few more minutes passed and Shizuru moved her chin to Natsuki's chest again, this time her eyes revealed a look that the biker had never seen before. The mask had not returned that afternoon and Natsuki made a habit of cataloging the expressions Shizuru revealed during their time together but this one was certainly different. The rustic eyes showed warmth and something else Natsuki couldn't pin point. The brunette moved closer and kept her eyes on her but her expression was questioning something and Natsuki gazed back at her quizzically, not quite sure what the other woman was up too.

The raven haired woman's little hairs on her neck stood up when she felt small breaths coming close and it only took a second later to realize what was going on and she closed the gap with her lips and kissed Shizuru shakily at first but as sweetly as she could muster due to her nervousness, she really hoped her instincts weren't incorrect. It took a nanosecond to feel that she was right though, she could hear her heart drumming in her ears and took in all of the sensations that she was feeling, if her body tingled at just holding hands than the sweet electrifying shock of the kiss was nothing in comparison. She could taste reminisce of Shizuru's morning cup of tea and the scent of baby powder enhanced her senses especially when the Kyoto-beauty braced herself to deepen the kiss.

Natsuki did a slow intake of breath through her nose at the sweet shock of the other woman's action, feeling the softness and heat of her lips put a trance on the biker. She wasn't very experienced in the arts of kissing but from she managed to control the pace of their lips and the other woman let her. She slowed the kiss down hoping her affection was clear; she also hoped the experience just as wonderful for her kissing partner as it was for her.

She pulled back reluctantly due to having to catch her breath, her mind was hazy but her body was on fire, no kiss had ever made her feel this way. "Wow," she slipped out breathlessly; she felt the blush erupt immediately after she spoke. When she was clear eyed she noticed Shizuru was upright and her features flush; she was breathing quickly. Natsuki made a mental note to remember the looks for the future and added it to the growing list of favorites.

An appreciative smile formed across the brunette's porcelain features; she was apparently feeling the same sentiments expressed by Natsuki. However, a few moments later Natsuki noticed her appreciative smile turn a little more mischievous when Shizuru said, "Natsuki really must have wanted that kiss."

"Wha-?" The biker wasn't expecting that response at all even though she should have. She propped herself up on her elbows causing Shizuru to remove herself from her position on top of her, "nnnn-" she couldn't say it and turned her head so the now giggling woman couldn't see her burnt red blush extend to her toes. "Yes," she said quickly.

"I couldn't tell until I saw Natsuki blush," Shizuru teased.

"Woman, you know how to ruin a perfectly good moment! Baka…" Natsuki grumbled standing up and stretching her back then arms.

"It was a perfect moment, ookini," Shizuru responded tenderly.

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it," Natsuki stuck her tongue out maturely but not missing Shizuru's tone. She gazed at her and smiled but it was cut short by voices in the distance and she silently cursed the dipshit that decided this was a tourist area and this time it wasn't because of her mother. "Damn, we should get going," holding her hand out for Shizuru.

Shizuru nodded and allowed herself to be pulled up by Natsuki and pulled her in another hug when she made it to her feet. "It really was wonderful," she whispered in her ear as she nuzzled closer to the raven haired woman's neck.

Natsuki's little hairs pricked out of her neck at the admission and her knees almost gave out, "Yeeaaahhh," she sighed contently. After a minute she heard the voices get louder realizing that a few people were about to intrude in the little world they had been in for a while. She reluctantly took a step away from Shizuru and took her hand to walk in the direction of her motorcycle. They found the path and a few meters ahead they saw a group of school aged children and a few chaperones walk down the trail and they waited for them to pass.

"Are you hungry?" Natsuki asked while they waited for the last person in the group to pass.

"I could eat something."

"There are a couple of small restaurants in town. I usually go to one in particular while I'm here, I'll warn you though, the food isn't fantastic but they're friendly enough," Natsuki said approaching the bike giving Shizuru the helmet she wore on the way to the cliff side.

"I want to go wherever Natsuki goes on this day," Shizuru said sincerely, her eyes said more than her words.

Natsuki peered into crimson orbs and stood so she was face to face again with her, "Arigato Shizuru." She pushed a few breeze blown strands of hair away from her face and placed her hand on her right cheek and pulled in for another kiss. She kept it light but it didn't stop the tingles and senses from absorbing everything she could in the seconds it lasted. She wasn't quite sure where all of this courage came from, she had never been so forward with someone in her life other than telling off her best friend but she was going to accept it for now. Maybe it was the emotions and the turmoil that was expressed by the both of them or it could be something as simple as wanting another person on a deeper level. Nevertheless, she was grateful that she didn't scare away this gorgeous woman that she had the pleasure of kissing…twice!

They separated from another and Shizuru was the first to speak, "You don't need to thank me, but if that's how you thank me from now on, I'll have to keep on doing whatever I am to warrant them." Shizuru winked at the last statement and got on the bike knowing that the reaction it would cause the beautiful biker.

"Shizuru…I give up for the rest of the day," Natsuki exaggerated her feigned annoyance but her smile gave her completely away. She would let her tease her for now but she had time to get even. Natsuki put her helmet on and straddled the bike giving it a few seconds idle making sure she didn't hear anything abnormal.

The chestnut haired beauty only laughed and put her helmet on which only muffled the giggles until the laughter quieted when the Kyoto woman stared at the bent sign. Natsuki noticed quickly and responded dejectedly, "I did that when I was seventeen."

Shizuru lifted the shield and stared at her with worry, "did you crash into it?"

"No! I…I pretty much beat the crap out of it with anything I could find near me. To be honest, in the end it looked like it beat the hell out of me, the metal had torn through my gloves I had at the time. I was pretty pissed off that someone had the nerve to make this area a place where people could hike and enjoy themselves. Ironically they put the concrete barrier shortly after my mother's car accident….at least that's what a local told me. I started coming by when I was old enough to sneak on a bus and then take my first bike." Natsuki shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I can't imagine…"

"I know." She smiled wearily, silently grateful that Shizuru didn't run for the Himalayas once she heard about her past. "You don't need to be sorry Shizuru. I was and in some ways still pissed off but I deal with it. Who knows if I'll find out all of the answers but I want you to know that I don't want you to think that's how I express my anger now. I would nev—"

"I'm not worried Natsuki," Shizuru said without hesitation, her expression holding true to her assertion.

There was an element of trust in the russet eyes that Natsuki had never sensed before; it permeated through her body and she was going to latch on and hope that she would never squander it. It was something to build on and she wasn't going to do anything intentionally to ruin it even though there was still that seventeen year old screaming to run away and get as far away as she could possibly go.

She didn't say anything but she didn't have too, Shizuru didn't need a response. She put on her helmet and felt two toned arms circle around her waist and squeeze slightly advising her that she was secure and ready to go. The electricity followed along with the contact but it was comforting and she kicked the stand up and drove towards town knowing that there was no turning back on what was said or how she felt.

Once they arrived in town they had a leisurely lunch filled with lighter conversation and a little bit of laughter. They discussed some happier moments and Natsuki shared some happier moments involving her mother, avoiding gloomier subject matters, both of them aware that there would be time for more skeletons to come out of the prospective closets. After lunch they strolled through town often holding hands and letting go when they stopped at a shop either one of them wanted to enter. Shizuru purchased a local tea where the main ingredient was a flower that was common in the region and Natsuki purchased a hand stitched wolf that a craft store had; she knew her daughter wouldn't be anything less than excited at the small gift.

They rode home in the late afternoon, the chilly air of the spring evening made the ride a little more uncomfortable but they took the curves of road more in sync than when they left in the morning. They had to wade through the tail end of the rush hour traffic but considering they lived near the city, you could consider traffic was a twenty four hour problem. Something inside of Natsuki didn't want the day to end and really wanted to take an exit that would lead them out of the city. She loved having Shizuru hold her from behind and enjoy (hopefully) the ride with her since it was her favorite pastime. Who wouldn't want a beautiful woman cling onto you while driving at an exhilarating speed?

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and in ten minutes they pulled into the driveway. Natsuki saw Nao's Lexus parked in the drive thinking they probably decided to come back to the house so she wouldn't have to go back out and pick Aya up at Nao's. There was an ounce of decency in her friend she thought to herself.

Natuski turned her bike off, removed her helmet and released herself from the bike. "I…ummm, thank you again Shizuru. It means a lot to me that you were here," she said nervously as the confidence had drained a bit from the drive home.

"Ano? I think I should be the one thanking you Natsuki. You listened to me when this wasn't about me," Shizuru answered taking the helmet off and she appeared just as nervous.

"I'm happy you told me," the biker looking away a little embarrassed.

"Well, I guess it's good night then. I should go see Kouta and bring him dinner and get a little work done before I go to sleep." Shizuru said handing over the borrowed helmet.

"Yeah…ummm, good night and I'll see you soon?" Natsuki gave a slight pout.

"Yes and—" Shizuru cut herself off by kissing quickly the nervous cobalt haired beauty one more time for reassurance. She turned and got into her vehicle that was parked a short distance from the Lexus.

Natsuki blushed one last time feeling her heart skip a few beats. She opened the garage door, turned and walked the bike into the garage to put both helmets and her gloves in their designated spots. She walked to the foot of the stairwell to remove her boots and slip on the house slippers when she heard the door open to a very smug red head.

"And she's SAAFFFFEEEE at first!" swinging her arms horizontally like an umpire.

"NNNNNAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Woohoo kissage and my longest chapter yet...don't think I'll top this length though most of it was conversation. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have a rough outline of the next chapter but with moving and crazy work schedules at the moment, it might take a while to publish. I'll try to update it soon though.


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